Goingbegging We think of Alfred Munnings as someone born old - the reactionary curmudgeon grimly rejecting everything new in art. So a romantic tale of the young Munnings joining a Cornish artists' colony in 1912 makes an appealing topic, even though the film turns out to be little more than escapist wallpaper.The screenplay is drawn from a novel based on real events, with the future Dame Laura Knight as the moving force behind the group, played with gusto by Hattie Morahan. Her patronising of gypsy communities may be called... well, patronising, but it lends colour to this film, along with the equine theme, giving us not only a dramatic race-meeting down on the beach, but also some well-deserved exposure for Munnings' acclaimed horse-paintings.Artists' communes are always incestuous, and the main story is a love-triangle, with Munnings and his friend Gilbert competing for the hopelessly unstable Florence Carter-Wood, played in a suitably minor key by Emily Browning. A discreet view of a local artist's model emerging naked from the sea brings out the insecurity in Florence, who stands in front of the mirror anxiously comparing her own endowments. Later, when she is shown Munnings' portrait of her, proudly displayed at the Royal Academy, she attempts suicide because his portraits of other women are also on display. By now, Munnings and Florence have married, but the non-chemistry between them is painfully obvious. Gilbert's relationship with her is far more harmonious. But he is just off to the war, as the end-titles helpfully notify us.The producers are obviously trying to achieve a Brideshead touch, but the characters are not sharply drawn, and we are mainly just drifting in an agreeable atmosphere of rocky coves, gypsy violins against the surf, passionate poetry recitals and credible period dialogue, not without appropriate elements of coarseness.Laura's husband, the eminent Harold Knight, is somewhat thrown away. And one of the poems ends with the words 'Summer in February', which are left hanging there as the title of the film, though their meaning is hard indeed to fathom. IMDb mentions a running-time of 100 minutes, so my HD version at 82 must be missing some scenes. It is certainly missing professional post-production - ye gods, the audio is something like two seconds out of kilter with the video!

jeqaljeqal Rarely do I rank movies so harshly but rarely do annoying protagonists emerge in a movie unless written by Hardy or Sand and generally they are toned down from their respective books. I did not realize this was based on a true story until the end (probably fetching popcorn for the opening credits). The movie opened up promising enough, and it quickly devolved. I found myself wondering when the two older women from early on in the movie would make an appearance. To sum it up: Casting: All pretty characters but with no chemistry at all. Screenplay: Forced, stilted dialogue. Subject matter: Spoiled, dull, talentless woman wants to take over a talented artists life once she marries him by trying to sabotage his career, withhold sex, and give her virtue away to his best friend while trying to alienate him from his other friends . Oh yeah, she's a charmer. Vibrant, witty, fun-loving artist falls in love with her virginity, good looks, and family background and marries her one can only imagine because he was unable to paint her face correctly. Enter best friend of both and confidante of all Gilbert usurper of AJs virgin bride. Rarely have I been less interested in seeing two people fornicate, who sides completely on virgin brides side and is alienated from his friend. The only surprise in this movie is that the two men didn't commit suicide. And although the ending was a blessed relief, I only wished it was at the beginning and the lives of the two shocked older women were used for the movie instead. Acting: everyone's acting was fine, there is no believability in anyone being who they are though, except the two older women from the beginning of the film, who seemed like they could be friends. A case could be made for a cult film, in that the audience could be rooting for not opening the door to Florence, asking periodically where's the two older ladies, and booing Florence when she tries to manipulate all the people around her. Perhaps with a bit of a cheer when she finally departs the action, and a few "gah's" when the over the top ending is finally concluded in the most melodramatic and uninteresting way possible.

molvan As a hopeless romantic, I found this film beautifully satisfying. I knew nothing about the artists group depicted here, but I have certainly been motivated to learn about them as a result of viewing this film. The Cornish setting is so evocatively filmed, the score so compelling, the costuming so authentic and the performances so skillfully done, that I was captivated from the start. Seeing Hattie Morahan, Dan Stevens and Dominic Cooper together again--they were all in Sense and Sensibility on Masterpiece a few years ago--was a delight. I think they are all such excellent actors. I had only see Emily Browning once before, but I found that I could hardly take my eyes off her when she was in a scene. Now I want to visit the Cornish coast and stay in the little hotel depicted in the film! The IMDb rating is much too low for this film!!

Jenni Mason Every movie must have a story that either invokes some sort of inspiration or realization for its viewers otherwise it is equal to reel of toilet paper. Well I wouldn't compare this to toilet paper, but it has everything except story. I don't know how related it is to the true story it is based on but I can say it feels as if something is happening in the background and the viewers are kept away. The characters are so indifferent to each other that at some point I felt like I will break the screen but then the beauty of the scenes stopped me. The actors/actresses are struggling to make sense of the dialogues and expression not knowing why they are doing so. If this movie is based on a book and as I read from other reviews that it is really beautiful then the director and the screenplay writer has to find another job. No wonder it is rated so low.