Last Summer

When we first meet Anne (Léa Drucker, "Custody," "Close"), she’s asking her tearful 13 year-old female client the type of questions the defense will use to paint the girl as a slut in what appears to be a statutory rape case. A few weeks later, Anne herself will throw caution to the winds and engage in an affair with the seventeen-year-old stepson, Theo (Samuel Kircher), her husband Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin, “Taken,” “Midnight in Paris”) has brought to live with them after he became violent with a teacher, his latest problematic incident. It will be their “Last Summer.”
Laura's Review: B
Catherine Breillat’s (“Fat Girl,” “The Last Mistress”) first film in ten years is a remake of the Danish submission for the 2020 International Oscar, “Queen of Hearts,” and yet is in keeping with her predilection for pushing beyond sexual norms. One would have an argument, though, that this one is in the name of feminism, despite the humdrum routine we detect in Anne and Pierre’s marriage. With “Last Summer” Breillat and Drucker portray a woman who succumbs to sexual desire despite the consequences, then becomes monstrous to maintain her status quo.
After meeting Anne professionally, we witness her frustration maintaining the household which includes their adopted daughters Angela (Angela Chen) and Serena (Serena Hu) with a husband whose frustrating business practices frequently call him away. When Theo moves in, he gets along like wildfire with his younger stepsisters, but is rude to his father. Anne, however, addresses him like an adult, requesting he act like a member of the family by cleaning up after himself.
But when Anne comes home with her sister Mina (Clotilde Courau, "Benedetta") to find what appears to be a break-in at their rural home, furniture overturned and her bag stolen, she will later find irrefutable evidence that Theo was responsible. Yet she says nothing, holding onto information which will prove useful later. When Theo helps her retrieve swimming gear from a high shelf, she asks him along on her outing with the girls, one which turns flirtatious when he teases her into the water, then proceeds to dunk her. The teen then helps Anne ditch Pierre’s boring guests for a run to a local bar, later parading Amanda (Nelia Da Costa) through the house to his room, inviting jealousy. By the time he invites Anne to join him watching a favorite show on his phone in bed, things quickly crosses a line, pent up desire unleashed.
Of course Anne regrets everything, but the more she resists, the more Theo persists and his ardor always wins her over, to the point where they’re found out by Mina at a family gathering. Then Pierre suddenly announces he wishes to go away for some alone time to repair bonds with Theo and Anne rightfully worries that he won’t keep his promise to keep their secret. When he doesn’t, she turns as cold as she was in that opening scene, credibly denying everything with righteous outrage.
Breillat keeps adjusting her tap, running from cold to warm to hot, then hot and cold. Drucker is stunning in her ability to become the very thing she’s been shown to fight against, using an imbalance of power to crush a young man whose besotment she’s invited. Kircher plays the bad boy who reveals an actual heart before succumbing to total sexual abandon, a lust childlike in its utter neediness. Rabourdin is the balance upon which these two teeter, his belief eventually falling towards the person who offers him the most reward. Kim Gordon’s score emphasizes the darkness in the drama.
Robin's Review: B-
Anne (Lea Drucker) is a successful attorney, married to Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin) and raising their two adopted daughters. His son from another marriage, Theo (Samuel Kircher), is spending time with them. Then sparks start to fly between Anne and the teen in “Last Summer”
75-year old Catherine Breillat directs and co-writes (with Pascal Bonitzer) this adaptation of the 2019 Danish film, “Queen of Hearts.” The remake is pretty much a blow-by-blow of the original, but with a mostly Gallic flavor – until the end, when its Danish roots show through.
Things start out pretty idyllic with Anne having a successful legal career and equally successful marriage, with children. Then, Theo moves in for a while. Anne puts up with his sullenness for only so long when she scolds him to show a little interest in his family and participate. Initially, the teen takes it to heart, spending time with Ann and the girls.
The added time at closer quarters between Anne and Theo causes the ice to melt between them. Soon, they kiss…and more. Anne, shocked at her behavior with a mere lad, immediately tells him it was the first and last time. The lady doth protest too much, though, and things heat up between the two. Then, Pierre tells Anne that he and his son are going to their chalet for some father-son bonding time.
This is where the Gallic sensibilities become more Danish and confrontations, denials and accusations take hold. The overall tone of the story changes and conflict becomes more important than family. I know why the story headed in this direction but it is not satisfying from my viewer standpoint.
Acting, as expected, is first-rate with Drucker giving Anne a strong will and sense of independence – and control. Samuel Kircher is pretty enough as Anne’s objet d’affection but, truthfully, she’s a cradle robber. The kid does play a sometimes snotty teen well
Sideshow Janus Films released “Last Summer” in select theaters on 6/28/24, expanding in subsequent weeks. Click here for play dates.