Summerland

Summerland is set in England during the Second World War, when children from London were sent to the countryside for safety. Alice, a writer who lives alone on the Kent coast, is asked to take in a young evacuee named Frank. She has no interest in sharing her home or her working life with a child and initially looks for a way to be rid of him. Frank's curiosity and openness gradually wear down her resistance, and caring for him brings back memories of a past she has kept at a distance.

Jessica Swale wrote and directed the film, which was her first as director; her second, Merv, followed in 2025. Gemma Arterton plays Alice, with Penelope Wilton as an older Alice, Lucas Bond as Frank and Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Vera. Tom Courtenay and Dixie Egerickx also appear among a cast of twenty-nine, supported by a crew of 104. Produced by Shoebox Films and Iota Pictures, the British drama runs 99 minutes.

Summerland took about 1 million dollars at the worldwide box office, a modest figure for a period release. On IMDb it holds 7 out of 10 from around 11,000 votes, while on TMDB it stands at 7.5 out of 10 from roughly 234 votes. Audience response is therefore favourable and consistent across both, with a far larger sample on IMDb and a small but equally positive one on TMDB.