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Shadows in the Sun (2009)

Director: David Rocksavage

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From Time Out London

The various crises of a well-heeled, boho Norfolk family in the late 1960s are oh-so gently explored in this largely lifeless, if nicely shot, pastoral which is chiefly interesting for featuring Jean Simmons in her first film role for years. The star of ‘Spartacus’ (see review right) plays Hannah, a widow living alone in a fine country house who finds solace in poetry and the company of a young, bearded fellow called Joe with whom she shares the odd joint.

Arriving for the summer with his two children is her troubled son Robert (James Wilby), whose uptight nature stems from the gathering perfect storm of an ageing mother, an absent wife from whom he’s divorcing and two kids who find better companionship in the mysterious Joe than in him. Issues abound, but Rocksavage is too polite to explore any of them more than superficially and he prefers to turn his camera on bucolic images when the going gets tough. A serene amble through an inoffensive landscape.

Author: Dave Calhoun

Time Out London Issue 2024, June 3 - 10, 2009


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Cast & crew

Director: David Rocksavage

Cast: James Wilby, Jean Simmons, Tom Reed

Genre(s): Drama

Rated: 12A

Duration: 81 mins

UK Release: Jun 5 2009



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