User Reviews

There are some things the British Film Industry does par excellence and this is one of them. Funny, sincere and extremely relatable, especially if you have, or have had teenagers and quite probably if you've been one too!

Daniel is a morose, thrash metal loving teenager dressed in black with long unkept hair who is painfully unsure of himself. He does not have a great relationship with his mum Sue, who, despite having a sunny disposition and cheery manner is also painfully unsure of herself. Daniel is hoping to spend the summer with his father who is now living in Florida but when that plan is scuppered it's clear that he's going to have to spend it with his mother.

To say this film is understated is....well, an understatement. Some reviews have seen the film as pointless and innocuous and to be fair this directorial debut by actor Simon Bird isn't going to change your life but I found a lot to like. There are plenty of laugh out loud moments a few moving ones (but not overtly sentimental) the direction and photography and the songs of Belle and Sebastian perfectly capture the bright but often deadly dull days of a suburban British summer. The supporting cast is full of great British comic actors who are great although the central performances of Earl Cave and especially Monica Dolan as son and mother are quite wonderful.

Your socks won't be blown off but give yourself 85 minutes to immerse yourself into this world and you will find it, I think, a rather disarmingly charming experience.

Greetings again from the darkness. If most people realized how obnoxious they were as teenagers, we'd likely have far fewer folks opting to be parents. Actor-turned-director Simon Bird, in his first feature film, portrays the awkward, frustrating, and sometimes bitter relationship between a confused and directionless teenage boy and his divorced, well-meaning, single mom. The screenplay was written by Bird's wife, Lisa Owens, and adapted from Joff Winterhart's 2012 graphic novel.

Daniel (a terrific Earl Cave) is a 15 year old boy who is obsessed with heavy-metal music and resents pretty much everything else in life. He's a droopy boy who can't be bothered to shampoo his hair, and the only energy he expends is with snarky comments to his devoted mother, Sue (an outstanding Monica Dolan), who is clueless on how to connect with a son who bears little resemblance to the younger boy she fondly recalls raising. Sue is diligent with her work as a librarian, and tries to instill some ambition in Daniel by having his seek employment.

Daniel sinks into an even lower funk when the dad he worships cancels the boy's much anticipated trip to Florida for a visit. Of course, Sue subtly points out that dear old dad may not be the best idol for her son, but those cautions fall on deaf ears. Instead, Daniel labels Sue, "the most boring person in the world". Their time together is cringe-inducing, as Sue does her best to convince Daniel they can have fun, despite his disappointment.

The interesting aspect of the film is derived from its structure as a comedy, while the undercurrent of sadness and isolation is ever-present. Sue is thrilled when Douglas (Rob Brydon), a history teacher, asks her out on a date. At the same time, Daniel's best (only?) friend Ky (Elliott Speller-Gillott) encourages him to pursue his dream as a front man for a local metal band ... resulting in one of the film's funniest and strangest segments. Neither Sue's date, or the aftermath, nor Ky's attempt to help his friend go according to plan.

Much of the soundtrack comes courtesy of Belle & Sebastian, and the uses of musical montages actually takes away from the otherwise realistic interactions between these characters. In addition to Brydon and Speller-Gillott, Alice Lowe has a welcome supporting role as Sue's more socially-inclined sister, but this film belongs to Mr. Cave and Ms. Dolan. Most parents can relate to Sue's challenges, and most adults who can be honest with themselves in retrospect, will likely recognize some of their own behavior in Daniel. The nuanced behavior and witty humor is handled well, and that deeper emotional level elevates the film for those who care to dig in. Available in theatres, Virtual Cinema, and streaming platforms on February 19, 2021

The directorial debut from former The Inbetweeners star Simon Bird is a funny and charming coming of age story that follows the dysfunctional relationship between a moody and nihilistic teenager and his depressed divorcee mother as they are forced to spend an entire summer together.

The film manages to capture perfectly the awkwardness of British adolescence and Earl Cave sells the pretentious and mopey teenager that is all too familiar to me. Monica Dolan was also great as Daniel's mum Sue and the use of Belle & Sebastian contrasted by heavy metal in the soundtrack was a great choice to mirror the inherent central conflict of the film.

It's a fairly standard and simplified story and the film lulls quite badly in the middle section, but it shows promise for the future career for Simon Bird. Maybe he was made to be behind the camera and not in front of it.

This story is very real and is get relatable to ordinary people. The mother son relationship is realistic, and their transformation is heartwarming. I enjoyed watching it.

Started out really great and full of laughs. It felt refreshing and a solid directorial effort by Simon Bird.

The Belle and Sebastian songs really helped with the vibe of it. The two leads had good chemistry, and managed to balance tender moments, with dramatic ones, and dry comedy.

Things lost momentum as it went on though. The slice of life elements started to wear thin, and the depressive angst just became a bit tiresome. I wasn't a fan of a particular development involving a certain animal.

But nevertheless, it was unique, succeeded in some laughs and was an alright way to spend 80-something minutes.

Monica Dolan and Earl Cave deliver very realistic sparring mother and son details. It is understated, and enjoyable just for that, in a world of car crashes and explosions as entertainment options. There's no real baddie here, just humans finding their way, and it's great for that, both in insight and staging. There are a lot of recognisable details in the mother and son relationship and that's the charm of the film. The hideousness of teenage selfishness and meanness to loving parents (I cringed with knowing guilt a few times), and the sacrifices mums make to carry their kids. A lot of humor in it too. Not a lot happens on the journey and it doesn't really arrive anywhere, and that's probably the main let down here. Daniel does become less of a jerk but there's no realisation or revelation and cause to that character arc other than he just grew up a little. Maybe that's in keep with the life observation aesthetic of the film though. Either way it was a really nice 86 mins and a welcome slice of realness in an overly dramatic world.

I'm watching this as I'm intrigued by Simon Bird's debut feature, he of Inbetweeners and Friday Night Dinner fame. Add a score by Stuart Murdock of Belle & Sebastian and I'm sold. Daniel (Earl Cave... great name) is a teenager. Long greasy hair. Metallica fan. His Mum, Sue (Monica Dolan) is, well she's made to look frumpy, a bit boring. Daniel is supposed to visit his dad and his new wife in Florida for the summer holidays. With a new baby on the way though, they pull the plug. Leaving Daniel with his mum for 6 unplanned weeks. This is a lovely film. Dolan and Cave are both wonderful. Add roles for Rob Brydon and Tamsin Grieg and it's nice typical understated British film making. Kitchen sink drama with the edges rounded off. At its heart it's the struggle between a bored, disenfranchised teenager and his mother, as they try to find common ground and happiness. Alright it's not exactly groundbreaking, Daniel is predictably angry, wants to be in a band. Sue is frustrated by Daniel's lack of motivation, is bored and lonely. It's fine though, charm and humour go a long way and this has bucketloads of both. Pretty much every scene with Daniel looks comical, he's totally out of place in suburbia with his death metal shirts. The same can be said for Sue, she's so awkward. Her date with Douglas (Brydon), Daniel's history teacher is almost painful to witness. It's a slow burn existence of the mundanity of life. Loft clear outs, cardigans, bottled up emotions, shoe shopping, garage bands with little kids and sickly pet dogs. The mix of Belle & Sebastian with Heavy Metal is fun and the whole thing is pretty sweet and touching portrayal of everyday life. I'm not sure I'd really recommend it, but it went well with a wet Sunday afternoon.

I thought this was a good realisation of the graphic novel by Joff Winterhart - going back to the book afterwards demonstrated thart a good deal of care had gone into capturing the feel of the novel. There are comedic moments but it is not a comedy and, overall, nothing much happens. Having said that I found it satisfying and, in the end, positive. Strong acting throughout - particularly Monicsa Dolan and. Earl Cave.

I liked some things - characters mostly, the mum in particular, but other than that I didn't feel particularly connected to any of it. It had a feeling of realness about it that kind of took me out of the movie at little. Appears to be rather low budget, and I think it almost certainly is, but the production style was a little too reminiscent of a 1990s British soap opera.

As much as I've given it 4 stars I don't think it's bad, but there are too many elements that just didn't work well at all for me. The placement of camera's was one of my main gripes, as if the camera's just happened to be there, and served to make it feel not particularly well directed - then again, I later found out that it was previously a graphic novel - HUH? - so, perhaps some of the shots were directed in such a way that bared close resemblance to areas of the graphic novel. I will never find out - I certainly won't read it.

The friend I watched it with loved it, and I was sat with him for his 3rd viewing, and can see other's really liked it. It just wasn't for me. I think it would have been much better with a slightly different approach. Oh another thing that grated on me was the soundtrack, which I thought was awful, the songs especially bad!

If you weren't a British teenager that grew up in the suburbs in the late 90s/early 00s listening to metal, then the nuances of this film might be a bit lost on you. From the stereotypical high street, to the bookcases in the library - this film screams everyday British culture. While there are a few shaky performances, Monica Dolan should be commended for her portrayal of the single mum trying everything she can to reconnect with her son. Her subtle delivery of those classic parental lines are both comical and heartfelt in the same breath, allowing the viewer to sympathise both with her and her son (played by Earl Cave, son of Nick Cave). I really enjoyed this film from start to finish, and I'll look forward to seeing more from Simon Bird in the future.

Just a series of events with no depth or imagination. I really wanted to like this film but the ending just left me wondering how better I could have spent the past two hours. Trying to teach my dog to speak or contemplating where unicorns live perhaps.

Most parents will find something to relate to here. Superb character portrayals. Perhaps rather lacking in plot but it didn't matter as the characters and comedy made it watchable. Good fun!

As the header says, I was lulled into thinking this was a comedy - filled with the kind of humour only a mismatched bland mother and metalhead teen could render, but I was completely unprepared for this drawn out bore-fest that even an avid bingo gran would consider uninspired.

I even tolerated the whole thing with the expectation of some grand awakening or something remotely equivalent, what I got was a feel-good movie that scored about +2% if you rated any feel-good film on how well you felt when you started compared to much better you felt at the end (and the positive is likely because I nipped to the loo before the credits).

If youre a middle aged divorcee, either female or male, with children growing out of their skin ,developing into ...mmm...adulthood?. yes its that kind of story but british and very witty and darn polite, i bet it will hit you either in the guts or the face, because it did both to me.

though im not divorced and my children has grown out of the nest, the son caracter in this film is the spittin image of one of my children, and the interaction between my wife and my son were most of the time extremely similar to the plot of this movie., long hair , black clothes, black bedroom walls, black bed drinking black soda, digging darn dark music with earplusg ,so youll never know whats been heard or not during conversation..even though that image i will also brag about the beautiful son i had then because he looked like the spittin image of jim morrison of the doors in his best moments, and does still emit confidance today ,though with a new style and image and family life, so theres hope for the worst doggy waggers even though it may be dark at times.

productionwise its very lively and very typical british humour film, the filmographic presentation very straight forward with lots of different depths of focus of filming, the cast good and the score nice. the story might feel light if you have not lived through the same kind of life,it couldve been more comprehensive at the end, but thats what a grumpy old man thinks. but its a big recommend, finally a good british silverscreen story.

First of all, the 15 year old looks like he is 18 or 20 - they should have cast someone younger for the role, it would have been more realistic.

Overall a good life story, but it ends without a real plot, a resolution... Somehow, I expected more.

Some people call this a comedy. I saw absolutely nothing funny in this movie. To me it was more of a real life drama - or at least a real life family situation that happens in many families.

The mother was too soft on her son. And he was basically a lazy, disinterested bum.

The movie lacked something... Felt like I watched the movie for nothing and in the end wasted my time.

In conclusion: a movie with potential, but basically boring and unresolved. If you don't watch it, you will not miss anything.

Just a quick review. Really enjoyed it. I can see why American critics won't like it. It is very British, really very English. Give it a go you won't regret it. Also it's basically a feel good film.

I honestly have no idea how people persuade other people to give them money to make films like this. My wife and I wanted a comedy, this was described as a comedy. We paid good money for it and didn't laugh once. If another product similarly failed to be "as described" we'd be able to get our money back. Watching this miserable teenager self indulgently speak and act so appallingly to his mother was just no fun at all. Watching his mum take verbal slaps in the face time after time was just not funny. Wrapping it up with a "gentle British comedy " tag just isn't good enough. I will however give credit to whoever was responsible for some superb framing shots .

A really well observed, gentle 'British' tale of a mother and sons relationship changes through a six week summer holiday. Really understated, Monica Dolan and Earl Cave do an excellent job in their roles as mother and son.

Expected a lot more as Simon Bird has been involved in some fine comedies as an actor ! This just went nowhere really , just a collection of unexciting events with a miserable kid and his dour mother !

I liked this film very much: two very likeable main characters who are wonderfully portrayed in their lovable vulnerability. Anyone who has a lot to do with adolescents simply has to smile when they watch Daniel.

Plus, Days of the Bagnold Summer is really funny.

Such "small" films with depth and without any ideological burden have become rare.

It was like a poor episode if daytime TV programme Doctors.

Extremely depressing, deprimating film. You will regret and waste your time if you attemt tonwatch this. I don't realise why and how is it rated so high...

I LOVE this film. It's beautifully written, directed and played by all concerned. A wonderful study of life as a non-Hollywood teenager, with all its angst, misery and confusion that seems so unfair at the time, and which is so funny/irritating/infuriating to everyone else. Earl Cave is eminently slappable as the morose teenager who is expecting to spend the summer in Florida but instead has to stay home with his mum. Handled with understated aplomb by Simon Bird, who quite rightly concentrates on the characters and who draws out some lovely performances, but whose interesting choices also make the film look just that bit different and lend an air of magic realism to the dullest of suburban moments. A real pleasure to watch and rewatch.