| Three Summers | |
| Director: | Ben Elton |
| Producer: | Michael Wrenn Sue Taylor |
| Starring: | Robert Sheehan Rebecca Breeds |
| Cinematography: | Katie Milwright |
| Editing: | Peter Pritchard[1] |
| Studio: | Invisible Republic Taylor Media |
| Distributor: | Transmission Films Arclight Films |
| Runtime: | 95 minutes |
| Country: | Australia |
| Language: | English |
Three Summers is an Australian romantic comedy film, written and directed by Ben Elton.[2]
It was filmed and is set in Western Australia, at a fictional summer music festival called 'Westival' (based on the real-life Fairbridge Festival).[3] Over three consecutive years, two musicians (played by Rebecca Breeds and Robert Sheehan) meet and fall in love at the festival amidst a microcosm of Australian society. In addition to Breeds and Sheehan, the film has a large ensemble cast including Magda Szubanski, Michael Caton, Deborah Mailman, Jacqueline McKenzie and John Waters.[4]
The film had its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival on 12 August 2017,[5] and was released nationally in Australia on 2 November.[6]
The film's main plotline revolves around a blossoming romance between its two leads, pretentious theremin player Roland (Robert Sheehan) and down-to-earth pub band fiddler Keevy (Rebecca Breeds)
The film also has a subplot about a racist bigot (played by Michael Caton) meeting a refugee boy and a group of Indigenous dancers and is re-educated.
The film contains several running gags, revolving around feminist singer Diamond and her renditions of classic Australian songs and poems, two middle-aged couples who at first seem nice and clean but are actually swingers, a girl band trio vowing to stay together but then two of the three quit, and a stern security guard who upholds the rules.
Three Summers was filmed in the Peel region of Perth, Western Australia in 2016.[7]
Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of critics reviewed the film positively, with an average score of 4.6/10, based on 13 reviews.[8]
David Stratton of The Australian wrote, "The film is worth seeing for Waters, giving a spirited portrayal of a loving father set in his ways and unable to see that times are changing, and Breeds as his lively, talented, worldly wise daughter."[9]
Conversely, Sandra Hall of the Sydney Morning Herald argued, "It's a relentlessly well-meaning film and when it's not proselytising, it's working very hard to manufacture enough laughs to make the whole mix palatable. However, the effort shows."[10]