A gorgeous and somber missed opportunity.

I saw “The Summer Book” at the Boulder International Film Festival with my cousins last March, and I wasn’t really sure what to expect, other than Glenn Close taking the lead role. The movie opens with a shack off the Gulf of Finland and during the winter when no-one is there and the water is icy. It begins to set the mood and ambiance for the story, based on Tove Jansson’s book, especially if it gets windy in the summertime. It might even have its own definition of the summer movie genre.

Okay, okay, I see we’re off to a good start, and it’s beautifully photographed by Sturla Brandth Grøvlen (“Another Round,” “Victoria”). Even though “The Summer Book” is set in Finland, I was still reminded of my summer trips to Maine and even my one trip in Ireland a decade ago. Not only because of the windy and peaceful vibrance, but also because of what qualities and difficulties people deal with. Now, that sounds like my kind of movie, but the story (based on the book by Tove Jansson with the screenplay by Robert Jones) doesn’t justify itself the way it should, and it ends up being derivative.

Only the main child of the film is given a name, while the other characters shall remain nameless. We meet an old woman (Close), her son (Anders Danielsen Lie), and her granddaughter and his daughter Sophia (Emily Matthews), who all spend the summer in the shack I’ve mentioned before. It’s the perfect place to go swimming, read a book, or spend some quality time together. I’m talking about the grandmother and Sophia, because the child feels that her father has been different with her since her mother passed away-that he doesn’t love her anymore-but her grandmother is a wise old woman and knows that’s not true. 

Directed by Charlie McDowell and co-produced by his wife Lily Collins, “The Summer Book” shows us a somber and sometimes very funny look at the connection between a little girl and her wise grandmother. Matthews is very good in her first movie role, while Close also delivers with the accent and sentimentality. So, these two have chemistry that is reminiscent of any relationship between a grandmother and grandchild. I know what I’m talking about, because I’ve taken some valuable lessons from all my grandparents about life and we’ve had some great times back then.

But the screenplay isn’t perfect, as we also get the father who, like in the book, is a reserved background character. I may not have read the book, but for a movie, they should give him more development, instead of having him rely on the rising action just to make his character meaningful. It takes place during a storm, so you know he’s going to be valuable there. You would also feel that we should get to spend more time with the grandmother and granddaughter, instead of trying to rely on movie formulas to carry itself.

There are very good intentions for the right reasons I’ve mentioned, but my cousins and I still felt “The Summer Book” was a missed opportunity. I could watch this movie again just to look at it and Jansson’s book is about life and love, but this movie doesn’t reflect on it as much as it should.

In Select Theaters This Friday