My Summer of Love

My Summer of Love (Pawel Pawlikowski, 2005) [5]
How many clichés dealing with the coming of age story can we put into this film? Two girls from opposite sides of the economic and social scale that will fall in love? Check. Over articulated dialogue with unnecessary intellectual references? Check. A close-minded villain that stands in the way of the relationship? Check. An obvious ending with character development that feels forced upon? Check. This movie contains all the kinds of standards that have become the definition of a "coming of age film." Pawlikowski has made a film that gets buried beneath its execution of all those clichés. That's not to say he doesn't craft some images that really stick out in my mind, mostly involving the two girls dancing or interacting silently. It's everything that comes out of the characters' mouths that is frustrating. I knew going in to this film what to expect and from the glowing critical reviews expected some elements that pushed beyond familiar territory. Yet I was left disappointed in that there was some promise here that was never fully utilized.