a gothic summer
when heat haunts the narrative...
It’s getting darker earlier and earlier in the evenings. When the final strip of sunlight disappears below the horizon, we are left only with the taste of salt on our upper lips, the faint burn on our skin, blinking to recall the light as the traces of the day fade into the night. Yet there’s still no escape to the heat, even in the brimming dark…
Initially, I created a list of summer movies to hold onto that feeling of summer a little longer before plunging into autumn. But September just calls for something a little different. School is starting, the holidays are ending, and I can feel the draw of the new season reaching for us. There is a duality in this month, a change waiting to happen.
That’s why I instead turned to narratives that start off as bright little things, until they turn a few shades darker before fading into the end credits. The brightness of summer can present a cheerful, careless, laid-back surface, while hiding the restless stirrings of a conflict underneath.
A real gothic summer, where shadows deepen underneath the brightness of the sun…
the sisterhood of the traveling pants (2005) ★★★★
Four best friends (Tibby, Lena, Carmen & Bridget) buy a mysterious pair of pants that fits each of them, despite their differing sizes, and makes whoever wears them feel fabulous. When faced with the prospect of spending their first summer apart, the pals decide they’ll swap the pants so that each girl in turn can enjoy the magic. (source: letterboxd)
I remember there was a poster of this book on the wall in one of the classrooms at my high school. I always wondered what ‘traveling pants’ were, but when reading the synopsis the book seemed a tad childish to me. Plus, the strange magic of those pants in a realistic world? At the time, I thought it wasn’t for me. Until I watched the film.
There are some BIG feelings in this film. What I love about it is the balance between four completely different characters. I can recognize myself in the lessons each of them have to learn in their summer away from each other. Though they have to go through it alone, they support each other and show the strength of female friendships, even when they’re apart.
the graduate (1967) ★★★
Benjamin, a recent college graduate very worried about his future, finds himself in a love triangle with an older woman and her daughter. (source: letterboxd)
You know that post-student sinkhole I was talking about in this post? Well, Benjamin has fallen into it. Though the whole “sleeping-with-an-older-woman” is not relatable in my case, the rest of the film is, to a recent graduate, a swimming pool of recognition.
After his graduation, Benjamin spends his days floating in the swimming pool and at night he dives into bed with Mrs. Robinson. When he meets Mrs. Robinson’s daughter Elaine, it complicates things when he develops feelings for her. The uncertainty and doubt they experience about their future weaves itself through the film. The film ends in a comma instead of a period and will leave you with the same question Benjamin has throughout the film: “What now?”
thelma & louise (1991) ★★★★★
We support women’s wrongs, especially when they’re just trying to have a hot girl summer!
Thelma and Louise are each other’s ride or die. They embark on a road trip together that leads them further away from the people they were when they started the trip. The naïve Thelma is a wonderful clash with the street-smart Louise, especially when they meet strangers on the road who mean harm. But they prove they can do some harm themselves. With sublime imagery of the American highways and what seems like a modern take on the Wild West but with cowgirls, this has become one of my favourite films ever since I first saw it last year.
the talented mr. ripley (1999) ★★★★★
Tom Ripley is a calculating young man who believes it’s better to be a fake somebody than a real nobody. Opportunity knocks in the form of a wealthy U.S. shipbuilder who hires Tom to travel to Italy to bring back his playboy son, Dickie. (source: letterboxd)
Identity theft? Never heard of her. Especially not while we’re out here having our perfect Italian summer moment. But then you haven’t met Tom Ripley yet…
Jude Law and Gwyneth Paltrow shine bright in this psychological thriller. No wonder that Matt Damon, who draws you into Tom Ripley’s perspective with compassion and fervor, flies a little too close to the sun and wants to be a part of their lives. The visual metaphors in this film are sublime and it’s a delight to watch Matt Damon portray the many talents of Mr. Ripley.
“Why is it that when boys fight, they always play at killing each other?”
rebecca (1940) ★★★★
It’s fun! It’s lighthearted! A widower finds love again after his wife died! No one is haunting the narrative even though they are dead!!
Based on Daphne Du Maurier’s novel, this adaptation by Alfred Hitchcock is *chef’s kiss*. While in Monte Carlo as a lady’s companion, the nameless protagonist portrayed by Joan Fontaine meets a wealthy widower. The lady she works for is despicable, so when her employer falls ill and Maxim invites her on little trips around the hotel, she is glad to get away from her. Their infatuation quickly becomes something more, and Maxim takes her away with him to his estate: Manderley. Maxim de Winter (Laurence Olivier) is cool and distant once they arrive at Manderley, and through Joan Fontaine’s impeccable acting and Mrs. Danvers’ eery presence, the former, deceased Mrs. de Winter haunts the film in her absence.
the sound of music (1965) ★★★★★
In the years before the Second World War, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home. (source: letterboxd)
Somehow the first part of the film always makes me forget that it is set during the Second World War, so when that fact reintroduces itself, you better hold onto a tissue.
Not only does this musical feature iconic songs, it is also very cute and equally thrilling and beautiful. It’s one of those movies where you just can’t help but empathize with all of the characters. Combine that with the movie not ending where it would have ended had it not been set during war times and you have me in tears.
brideshead revisited (2008) ★★★
At university, Charles Ryder (Matthew Goode) meets Sebastian Flyte (Ben Whishaw), an eccentric, wealthy lord. He invites Charles to visit his family home with him, a big estate called Brideshead.
Charles is enthralled by Brideshead (a bit like Elizabeth was with Mr. Darcy’s estate) and by the lives of his university friend and his family. Though deterred by their devout Catholicism, Charles worms himself into their lives and shakes things up.
atonement (2007) ★★★★★★★★★★★★★★
As a 13-year-old, fledgling writer Briony Tallis irrevocably changes the course of several lives when she accuses her older sister’s lover of a crime he did not commit. (source: letterboxd)
This. This is my all-time favourite film. As a movie-lover, it is always hard to pick a favourite amongst your children, but I think Atonement is a masterpiece in all facets of cinema. The theme is carried through in every fibre of this film, accumulating into a perfect adaptation of the book of the same name by Ian McEwan.
It’s directed by Joe Wright, who also made Pride & Prejudice (need I say more?). Keira Knightley looks stunning in all the period clothing and she strides through the house like a lion in a cage, James McAvoy is perfect, young Saoirse Ronan just is Briony Tallis, and through the course of this film, every one of them will break your heart. Have fun watching! ;)
*honorary mention*
high school musical 2 (2007) ★★★★
This is a Disney Channel favourite that I couldn’t not mention (in a very unserious way). This is not just any movie. This is cinema!! And it is gothic cinema at that: From ‘What Time is It?’ to ‘HUMUHUMUNUKUNUKUAPUA’A’ (yes, that is a real song), this film sparks summer fun and unserious business.
Troy and his high school friends get a summer job at Lava Springs and plan on spending as much time together as possible. Their ‘perfect’ summer plans turn sour when Troy is faced with opportunities that could set him up for his future. He starts making promises he can’t keep and faces the choice of losing those opportunities or losing his friends. Troy’s mental breakdown can be categorized as a very ‘dark summer’ moment and I will confess that ‘Bet On It’ is a tried and tested song to sing along with if you are in a crisis yourself.
Let me know if you want to watch/have watched any of these films! I think the vibe fits the kind of weather we’ve been having over where I am, and will provide a great transition into the spooky season that will be arriving soon.
is this my sign to watch thelma&louise?
Ripley and Rebecca! the ultimate gothic summer movie!