A coming-of-age drama with a difference, Summer is the story of a man who takes so long to “find himself” that, some would argue, he might as well have stayed lost.

It is low-budget. It involves only one big name. No iconic pop songs appear on the soundtrack. Guns are not relevant to the storyline and nor are suitcases full of cash. The title, to put it mildly, lacks oomph. Yet the end result is brilliant, proof that British films can be both poetic and political, uplifting and raw.

Robert Carlyle plays fortysomething loser Shaun, whose days are spent caring for Daz (Steve Evets), his childhood best friend, in the Northern town of Bolsover. They both look like the walking wounded. Daz, it turns out, is dying; Shaun can’t help pondering how the damage was done. His liquid-bright memories trickle into the present; eventually they cause a flood.

We get to meet him and Daz as academically-challenged 10-year-olds. We also meet them — in the year that changes everything — aged 16.

All the performances are riveting. Carlyle’s rightly won him a Best Actor award at the Edinburgh Film Festival. The 16-year-old Shaun, as played by newcomer Matthew Workman, is effortlessly charismatic; Jo Tulej, as his savvy girlfriend, is also a natural. It’s often confusing when characters age and regress before our eyes, but each shift here adds a crucial piece to the puzzle.

It comes as no surprise to discover that director Kenny Glenaan (a Scot) is a big fan of Ken Loach. Ironically, Summer is actually better than many of Loach’s recent efforts, which these days often leave supporting players dangling in thin air.
All the characters in Summer, by contrast, have a believable texture. Plenty of ground is covered in Summer: dyslexia, addiction, self-destructive machismo, the education system and, of course, poor job opportunities for men. But it’s the film’s overall generosity that leaves us in bits.