THE FILM REVIEW MAGAZINE

Life, love and loss in Liverpool.

Abe Wilson (Steve Ako) is a young, black mechanic who falls in love with Jess Sheppard (Joeline Garner Joel), his boss's young, Caucasian daughter. When their affair is discovered, Jess decides to rebel against her over protective father and move in with Abe. Although fortune initially favours the young couple, a sudden tragedy strikes at the heart of their relationship and brings the season to a dark end. Originally envisaged as a moving photo album, Dark Summer evokes the feeling of flicking through some one else's holiday snaps. The all-too-brief episodic glimpses into the Liverpudlian lovers' lives prevent us, however, from ever getting close to them: we never get to know them, to feel for them, or to care for them. Beautifully shot in Widescreen Cinemascope and boasting all impressive score by Jamaican reggae star Augustus Pablo, Dark Summer is an unpretentious, uncompromising offering.

David Bassom