Mona (Press) is a bored 16-year-old whose summer is looking especially unpromising when her married boyfriend (Andrews) dumps her and her ex-con brother Phil (Considine) becomes a zealous born again Christian, converting their pub into a spiritual retreat centre. Then she meets a rich girl, Tamsin (Blunt), who lives up the road, and the two become fast friends. And then some. But Mona's about to learn a few surprising truths about life. And Phil will also reach a point where simplistic answers just aren't enough.

As with Last Resort, Pawlikowski uses a raw, natural tone that completely draws us in. Besides looking beautiful (the rural Yorkshire setting is drenched in summer sunshine), this approach elicits natural performances that continually take us aback. And the film never takes a cheap shot--posh elitism, working class earthiness, religious zeal, young lesbian love--all of it feels achingly, radiantly real.

Press and Blunt, in their feature debuts, create strikingly believable characters. Mona's quirky, life-loving earthiness contrasts with Tamsin's privileged mischievousness. These are very different young women (Mona's mother died of cancer, Tamsin's sister died from anorexia), with unique reactions to religion, philosophy, music, cruelty. And yet we can feel the power of their attraction--two girls in the countryside one lonely summer who find in each other something they desperately need. These are complex, intricate performances, knitted together brilliantly by an astute script and finely tuned direction.

Meanwhile, Considine delivers another eloquent turn, getting deep under the skin of this troubled man who has genuinely found inner peace, but can't keep reality from intruding. Considine is so realistic that we never feel like he's making fun of Phil's earnest-but-strained religiosity. And this is no mean feat, since the film has such a dry, observational wit that we laugh at most things that happen on screen, even though nothing is overtly funny. This is a film about reaching the point where simple answers and fantasy solutions fall apart in the face of raw life. Beautiful and challenging.