We may never know those closest to us as much as we may assume. This is the lesson at the heart of Director Kaveh Daneshmand’s sizzling melodrama Endless Summer Syndrome. Intense, sexy, and fraught with tension, his film excels at initially disarming the audience with its idyllic, sunbaked locale, only to incrementally up the tension at every turn, culminating in what feels like the summer from hell. Many may end up seeing this in the middle of winter (surely a missed opportunity), but what better way to bring August to one’s living room as the temps drop below freezing?
Other than brief interview sequences interspersed throughout the narrative, Endless Summer Synrdrome is structured around a well-to-do French family living out the remaining days of summer before Aslan (Gem Deger) begins his entomology studies in New York. His mother, Delphine (Sophie Colon), and father, Antoine (Mathéo Capelli), are anxious for him to take the big step. At the same time, his supportive sister Adia (Frédérika Milano) promises to take care of his bizarre collection of insects.
This last bout of relaxation is going according to plan until Delphine receives an unnerving phone call from an anonymous colleague of Antoine’s. The coworker asserts that after a night of drinking at a work party, he admitted to an inappropriate relationship with one of his children that is tearing him apart. Hoping it’s a prank, Delphine still can’t shake the possibility and lets paranoia take over, obsessing over every interaction between him and the kids. Is she overreacting, or is there something inappropriate going on?
“…after a night of drinking, Antoine admitted to an inappropriate relationship with one of his children.”
Daneshmand deftly keeps us guessing for most of the film, and the resulting tension is the high point of the film. Delphine becomes something of a monster in her quest to get to the bottom of the accusation and leaves in her wake a family walking on eggshells. The possibility always remains, however, that her fears aren’t unfounded. Not knowing is crucial for the audience’s enjoyment, so spoilers need to be avoided at all costs.
Additional praise needs to be heaped upon the cast of four that holds the film together. Colon is amazing as Delphine, abruptly switching personalities once she hears the disturbing rumor that could unravel her family. Capelli is equally as impressive as a smooth operator who may or may not be hiding something significant. The younger actors (Milano and Deger) also hold their own as characters living something of a double life in the midst of all this paranoia.
The film’s climax is melodramatic enough to be deemed “soapy” by those who were tortured by their mothers’ addiction to daytime TV in the 90s, but one supposes that the tension built by Daneshmand needs a release at some point. Even if one is averse to moments like this, the film has a steamy quality that makes it forgivable. After all, it’s a film that, for many periods, consists of hot French people lounging around in the sun, and maybe we need more of that.
"…culminating in what feels like the summer from hell..."
