Summer Of 85 Movie Review (2020)

A story about young love, Summer of 85 is about a teenager who is fascinated with death, but finds someone who might just be the spellbinding distraction that he needs.

First loves are usually nostalgic. We glamourize them and think of them wistfully as beautiful moments from long ago. But if you could relive them again or be a fly on the wall, you might have some questions for yourself and your partner. Is it really love? Is your memory the truth or are there different things that you can see now that you have the benefit of hindsight?

Summer of 85 is a story about Alex, a 16 year old who is fascinated by death. One day, he decides to sail a small boat, but has some trouble and is rescued by 18 year old David. The two develop a flirty friendship that turns into a summer romance.

This sexy dramedy lures you in right from the start with Alex’s gloomy narrative about death and corpses. This is immediately followed by sun-kissed bodies and people on the boardwalk with beachy music playing in the background.

Much of the story is told in flashback, as Alex is currently in therapy and has a caseworker for some mysteriously bad reason. He is encouraged to write his story, tell what happened, and those are the flashbacks that he narrates and relives.

While Félix Lefebvre’s Alex is a great storyteller, Benjamin Voisin’s David captivates you from the first moment. He is seduction, and you can feel it through the screen. He is wild, sexy, and vulnerable, and it is just as palpable for you (the viewer) as it is for Alex. A very French film in that way.

But it brings a lot of questions about first love and the movie itself because everything is being told from Alex’s memory. The beautiful moments are absolutely magnetic between the two young men. They’re full of lust and curiosity, with summer love filling the air. But was David actually who Alex thought he was or is that just what he sees in his memory?

Music plays a large role in Summer of 85. Rod Stewart’s “Sailing” makes a few appearances as a nod to the way the boys met and bonded. We also hear The Cure’s “In Between Days,” which is much beachier than I remembered.

There is one moment in the film that is intended to be funny, but it made me uncomfortable, so I have to note it. After David has rescued Alex from his boating situation, they return to David’s house so that Alex can change clothes. David’s mom makes Alex remove his clothes and observes him naked while looking at his crotch. She makes a comment about how Alex’s mother can be proud of her son’s body and then claps her hands on either side of Alex’s naked hips. It made me cringe.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed Summer of 85 and all of the nostalgia that is tacked on. The characters are fun to invest in and the story is a little more complicated than one might originally expect. Definitely worth a watch.

*Note – Summer of 85 was released in Europe in 2020, but not in the US until 2021, so you may see different years tacked onto the film description.

Runtime: 101 minutes

Motion Picture Rating: Not Rated (I would say around PG-13)

Languages Spoken In The Film: French (with English subtitles) and a little English

Should You Watch It? Yes

Did I Cry? Nope

My Rating: 3.5/5 Stars

Available: Free on Tubi, to rent on Prime Video, or may be available for free on other streaming platforms