Directed by Simon Bird. Reviewed by Paul Sorrell

This warm-hearted but clear-eyed film about family relationships is pitch perfect, and is (I hope) destined to become a classic of its kind. Its origins as a graphic novel are generally well-hidden, but break through in the odd cartoon-like scenario, such as the scene where a professional-sounding heavy metal band is revealed to consist of a trio of 9-year-olds.

The film canvasses a situation that must be familiar to many parents and children. Sue Bagnold, a single mum in her early 50s, is destined to spend the summer holidays alone with her sullen, resentful, unmotivated son, Daniel. The plot and premise are simple. His plans to spend six weeks in Florida with his dad having fallen through, Daniel, aged 15, pasty-faced and adorned with a mop of long, lank hair and Metallica t-shirts, is going to have to spend the summer with Mum. Sue is a dowdy, unconfident, bespectacled librarian, permanently clad in a beige sweater — perhaps a too easy stereotype?

The pair’s early interactions are predictably painful — variations on the same thwarted verbal exchanges and put-downs that reveal frustrations on both sides. What makes these “conversations” especially poignant is, first, the sheer skill of the acting, directing and cinematography and, second, the sparky dialogue that scores one well-directed hit after another. Of course, things are going to change, and they do — although this very British film is most definitely not the kind of “feel-good” movie where the upbeat outcome is a foregone conclusion.

Change begins following the death of a beloved family pet, when Daniel and Sue begin to bond spontaneously. It’s a revelation when we see Daniel smile for the first time — it’s as if he’s become a different person. After having her romantic hopes dashed by a smooth-talking poseur, Sue begins to change, taking up Pilates and beginning to venture out socially. Daniel, too, is becoming more confident and outgoing.

While Earl Cave and Monica Dolan (both actors new to me) play the perfect mismatched couple, Days of the Bagnold Summer is not just an engaging two-hander, and supporting roles are delightfully realised by Elliot Speller-Gillott (Daniel’s friend Ky), Tamsin Greig (Ky’s mother Astrid), Rob Brydon (Daniel’s history teacher and Sue’s would-be seducer Douglas Porter) and Alice Lowe (Sue’s sister Carol), adding both subtlety and humour to a film that many readers will have little difficulty relating to.

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 262 August 2021: 28