The Big Picture

Last Summer
explores the complex and taboo relationship between a powerful lawyer and her stepson.
The performances by Drucker and Kircher are strong, but it’s hard to be truly invested in either of their characters since we’re being kept at arm’s length from both of them.
Despite its flaws,
Last Summer
has some brilliant moments of direction, and the film’s third act picks up steam.

All it takes is one spontaneous moment to alter the course of your life. It can change everything for the better — quitting a job you hate to travel around the world, swiping right on the love of your life, taking the first steps to get help — but it can also have the opposite effect. Taking your eyes off the road, saying something awful in the heat of an argument, or cheating on your partner, for instance. Last Summer is much concerned with the latter, exploring how an inappropriate relationship impacts all parties.

What Is ‘Last Summer’ About?

Though its themes and taboos are anything but simple, the plot of Last Summer is a relatively straightforward one. The film follows Anne (Léa Drucker), a lawyer who advocates for children and assault victims — something that becomes rather ironic when her rebellious teenage stepson, Théo (Samuel Kircher), comes to stay with her, her husband, Pierre (Olivier Rabourdin), and their young adopted daughters, Serena (Serena Hu) and Angela (Angela Hu).

Anne and Théo’s relationship starts innocently enough. Pierre is rather harsh on Théo, referring to him as “mean” and bemoaning the fact he gets in fights and plays video games all day. Anne, on the other hand, has a soft spot for him — particularly due to the fact he’s so sweet to her young daughters. At first, it seems nothing short of maternal, but as the two begin spending more time together, a forbidden attraction begins to bloom, culminating in a full-blown affair that could blow up everything.

‘Last Summer’s Distance Does It a Disservice
Image via Janus Films

But it’s the aftermath of the inevitable explosion that’s the most riveting part — something to which director Catherine Breillat thankfully devotes a good portion of time. The film starts off relatively slow, indulging in the gorgeous scenery and twisted romance between the pair. It’s deeply unsettling, which is what the film is going for. Unfortunately, it can also start to get a little boring. Thankfully, the third act picks up steam as we begin to see the fallout — and the cruel lengths Anne will go to in order to avoid repercussions, leading to a bitingly bleak conclusion — but it’s a fairly dull ride to get there.

Breillat purposefully uses distance and detachment as a tool. The intimate scenes are shot with agonizing closeness, forcing you to bear witness to something you know is wrong in excruciating detail, but the rest is restrained and objectively presented. There’s a sense of humanity to each of the characters, but there’s also a hollowness — an empty hole everyone is trying to fill in all the wrong ways. While the color palette is vibrant and sun-soaked, there’s a clinical nature to everything that makes it feel cold. It’s an interesting approach on paper, but in execution, it contributes to the tediousness of watching it unfold.

Despite the strong performances by Drucker and Kircher, it’s hard to be truly invested in either of their characters since we’re being kept at arm’s length from both of them. It’s easy to pinpoint that we should empathize with each of their struggles and why, but there’s a lack of emotional connection and buy-in that makes it challenging to experience anything besides vague discomfort. We’re clearly supposed to be in Anne’s perspective, but we never feel immersed in her point of view, removed from her pleasure, her fear, her anger, and everything in between.

‘Last Summer’s Performances Are Its Highlight
Image via Janus Films

There has been no shortage of films about age-gap relationships as of late, each with varying degrees of controversy. There’s Todd Haynes’ May December, of course, as well as Paul Thomas Anderson’s Licorice Pizza and Luca Guadagnino’s Call Me By Your Name. Last Summer has elements of all of them, though the recent movie it feels most reminiscent of to me is Todd Field’s Tár.

This is mainly due to Drucker’s excellent performance, which has shades of Cate Blanchett’s commanding control and sneaky duplicitousness. Drucker plays Anne with extreme competence when it comes to her career. The first scene, when she’s talking to a young, trembling rape victim, makes it clear she’s a masterful lawyer, though she’s also a no-nonsense one, not hesitating to lay out the facts as they are or do the right thing — no matter how ugly or unpleasant these truths or actions may be. There’s no doubt that justice is the most important thing to her in this aspect of her life.

Her personal life, however, is another story. She is floundering to find her place in the world and her identity itself. Drucker does a phenomenal job of showing Anne’s youth begging to break free — a youth that she wanted to rid herself of too young, as evidenced by her monologue about being in love with her mother’s friend at 14. In order to tap into this, she gets sloppy, shedding her morals and preying on Théo. When she gets a sense that her hypocrisy could be exposed, we begin to see the cracks in the facade. One of the strongest scenes sees Drucker nervously buttering toast while talking to Pierre, Théo pacing around and eavesdropping just beyond.

It’s when these two worlds combine that the film becomes most compelling. Breillat pulls a bait-and-switch by making Anne utilize her skills as a lawyer for her own benefit, turning the tables and gaslighting Théo and Pierre with ease. And it’s this ease with which Drucker manipulates that turns this film from a melodrama into something of a thriller. Anne is a tragic, floundering protagonist, but she’s also a dangerous one. She’s not a simple, black-and-white villain, but she’s an undoubtedly terrifying figure. Drucker’s ability to be coolly menacing, using logic and composure as a tool, is impressive.

Kircher is equally great, with Théo acting as both a parallel to Anne and a foil to her. Like Anne, he’s trying to grow up too quickly, but he soon finds the consequences of embracing adulthood this young — and in this way — have devastating repercussions. But while Anne is polished on the outside with a darkness simmering under the surface, Théo has a tough persona with a gentle innocence underneath, evident when he plays with his younger siblings and when he gives Anne a tattoo — another highlight of the movie. His optimism and naivety, and the fact that everyone in his life has failed him in some way, is simply heartbreaking. It’s a shame that staying in Anne’s point of view means that we miss out on seeing the pivotal confession scene between him and Pierre that acts as the film’s turning point.

‘Last Summer’s Themes Can Feel Too Heavy-Handed

Last Summer raises interesting questions about hypocrisy, youth, and womanhood, but the ways it interrogates them can feel shallow and stale. From Anne reading her daughter a story about a handsome 16-year-old prince to Pierre sharing a thinly-veiled anecdote about cute but destructive mice, the film hits you over the head with obvious metaphors and symbolism. Instead of coming off as clever and thematic, it’s a bit eye-roll-inducing, especially considering how saturated the movie is with them.

The film introduces complex ideas about ageism and the ways different generations view sex, but it all ends up a bit surface-level. These themes are never satisfyingly engaged with, instead feeling like they’re brought up to justify aspects of the character. Though Anne’s recounting of growing up during the AIDS crisis and abortion that results in her inability to have biological children is meant to give her depth, it ends up doing the opposite, coming off superficial and thrown in to try and clearly explain to us why she might be doing what she is.

Sexism and feminism permeate throughout the film, too, and while the conclusions about them are certainly riskier and more nuanced than most movies, the ways they’re presented are cliché and dated. Pierre is the stereotype of the inattentive, overworked husband prominent in ’90s sitcoms. While they’re condemning it in the film — something that would have been revolutionary not so long ago — Anne’s boredom and lack of excitement are overdone and oversimplified at this point. It comes off like an easy shortcut, a convenient excuse, for Anne to be desperately hypnotized by Théo’s attention.

“Is it too much for you to behave, if not nicely, normally?” Pierre asks after Anne leaves a gathering with his colleagues, to which Anne replies that normal bores her. It feels strange and out of place — we haven’t been given any indication that this has been a strain on their marriage before — and manic pixie dream girl-esque. The final scene, which is a bold choice, gives it a bit more color and is a refreshing (if slightly diabolical) twist, but the beginning almost borders on Lifetime network material.

Last Summer’s solid performances elevate it, but it never reaches the heights it could by digging more deeply into the themes and more firmly grounding us in the characters and their emotions. While there are no obvious answers or wholly good or evil characters, its heavy-handedness and slow beginning weaken its impact. Breillat’s direction is brilliant at times, but some of the choices keep the audience from being fully invested or moved by anything, lessening the effectiveness of its message.

REVIEW Last Summer ‘Last Summer’s writing is a mixed bag, but its performances and cinematography are consistently solid.ProsLéa Drucker and Samuel Kircher give expertly nuanced performances.The third act is strong, and leaning into the thriller genre makes for a compelling conclusion.Catherine Breillat’s direction feels highly intentional, with some choices expertly elevating the film?s uncomfortable tone. ConsThe characters are kept at arm’s length, making it difficult to emotionally connect.The themes can be rather heavy-handed and cliché, and they’re not explored as deeply as one might hope.

Last Summer is now playing in select theaters in the U.S. Click below for showtimes near you.

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