Summer in February

It seems I stumbled across a hidden gem, whilst scrolling through the films on my Amazon shopping list. Summer in February boasts a cast of actors we are all familiar with for their leading roles in various British dramas: Dan Stevens, Emily Browning, Dominic Cooper, Nicholas Farrell. You would expect a hearty story-line full of mischief and beauty - and it does not disappoint.

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Set in pre-war England, we are witness to a society in which duty is much valued. Yet, there are a group of artists who seem to have escaped the reigns of duty and instead are unchained free spirits, living upon the picturesque Cornish coastline. Perhaps the freest of them all, is a Mr AJ Munnings, played by Dominic Cooper. His boyish grin and penetrating eyes are perfectly placed for this unpredictable character who cannot help but adore the drama of hearing his own voice declare some air of poetry or artistic revelation. Blind in his right eye, he stabs boldly at the canvas' he paints, creating masterpieces for all fellow artists to be jealous of. His most iconic piece perhaps, comes with the arrival of Florence, whose brother Joey has been living among the artsists for a while. Immediately she catches the eye of the floundering Munnings however, he is not alone in his affection.

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Dan Stevens enters as the Mr. Gilbert Evans whose eyes simply cannot be drawn away from the flawless complexion of the stunning Florence. Like a fly to a light he cannot help but fly towards his lady as it becomes very much a - three's a crowd - kind of relationship. It seems that Gilbert is just about to pop the question when who should interrupt but the bold AJ. Soon after AJ beats him to it and proposes to her himself. We almost wonder why she agrees at all but perhaps her love of art transposes to artists and she simply cannot say no.

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The character of Florence is difficult to read as she hides behind sad eyes and a stiff expression. It seems only that the light in her eyes return when in the presence of Gilbert whom she clearly adores so much. Yet, she is to be married to AJ. They marry at the same time as the unveiling of AJ's collection in London. It follows that Florence sits in the midst of this collection. Poised in the centre on horseback upon a canvas of leafy contrast she should be happy we think - and yet she is not. She merely points out to Gilbert that she sits amongst a collection of AJ's women; a traveller, a half-dressed Dolly and herself. As others toast to the new Mrs. Munnings, the wonderful Emily Browning fights back tears at the realisation of the trap she has allowed herself to be caged in. She has clearly been unhappy for some time, as at the reception of their wedding she drinks poison in an attempt to take her own life. She clearly had purchased this before, leaving Gilbert running to her aid to save her.

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As time goes on, she finds herself less alive than ever. The light fades from her eyes and the colour in her cheeks thrives only in the presence of Gilbert, who has found her a cottage on the cliff to escape to. Although recovered from the poison she drank, she finds herself overcome by the poison than seems to flow from AJ towards her. As he grows frustrated at their non-existent sexual encounters and as he snaps at her more frequently, she becomes less of the outspoken and confident girl we saw on her arrival to Lamorna and more a shell, a distant expression of her prior self.

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The worst comes when she sits down to breakfast with Gilbert and AJ and Gilbert announces that he has applied for a job in West Africa and that he will be gone for three years. In panic AJ shouts at him as Florence simply runs away to her cottage, where only Gilbert can find her. As he approaches, they finally give one another the embrace they have longed to. They make love in the candlelight and her days are lightened a little by the love she finally feels, is reciprocated.

On his departure, we are witness to the trap ever tightening around the beautiful and gentle Florence. It is not one of those affairs we simply hate her for entering, it is one she was destined for. She is trapped in this world with no escape. She stands on the edge of the cliff and stares down at the crashing waves against the rocks as if contemplating if she is bold enough to jump. She is no Munnings however, she does not share his boldness.

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Her lover is gone and has left her with child. She tells Laura Knight that it cannot be AJ's and we suddenly feel the pang that she has. Emily Browning portrays the utter desperation of Florence's character brilliantly. It is a feeling some of us know all too well. We wish for other things, for greater adventure, for true love and yet we cannot escape from the present. We do not wish to hurt others, we feel so wronged, we wish to just runaway to hilltop and take in the breeze as though it will whisk away our worries in an instant. She has lost the only one who made her feel loved, made her feel safe and as AJ rushes over to her at the fancy dress party he has hosted and names her publicly, as a whore, she can bear it longer.

In a final attempt at retreat, she flees to her cottage on the cliff. As rain pours in through the wind-damaged window she stares at the flame of her oil lamp. As day approaches, she takes the remaining poison she has hidden on her shelf and drinks. Florence, has given up on life. She is dead.

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As Dan Stevens returns as Gilbert to Lamorna, he is met with only a name on a headstone, a name of a Mrs. Florence Munnings. The pain in his eyes is clear to see and Stevens gives us that choked up gaze we all empathise with. We can sense the heartbreak, the guilt and with his final trip to Florence's cottage, the love he will always feel for her.

I normally find myself looking at costume in a period drama but the screenplay in Summer in February drew me away from that. The music was emotive and the setting as beautiful as it needed to be. Yet somehow it became a setting that as much as it represented freedom for all the artists of Lamorna, became a trap for their beloved Florence. She was simply a girl trapped in the mistake of a moment passed, if only AJ had not interrupted Gilbert's proposal in the first place. She was a woman loved by one too many. It is a great performance from all of the cast and a wonderful if tragic watch.

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