Last Summer *** (2013, Samuel Pettit, Sean Rose, Deb Lewis) – Classic Movie Review 13,689

Samuel Pettit and Sean Rose star as high-school sweethearts who spend a long, idyllic summer in rural Arkansas contemplating their uncertain future, in the hauntingly poetic 2013 film Last Summer.

Samuel Pettit and Sean Rose star as high-school sweethearts Luke and Jonah, who spend what may be their final days together over a long, idyllic summer in the rural American South (it is filmed entirely in Arkansas) contemplating their uncertain future.

Jonah is brainier and more talented than Luke and is moving on to college, while Luke is stuck back in school. Jonah begs Luke to ask him to stay, but Luke, who loves him to bits and pieces, refuses to do it. Luke’s main talent is being good at being good. He might be the less gifted of the two, but he’s by far the nicer.

Writer/ director Mark Thiedeman’s 2013 film Last Summer is a sweet, hauntingly melancholic, poetic ode to the pangs of young love, gay as it happens. Last Summer is gentle, reflective and charming, with nice, appealing performances, and startingly attractive photography, in imaginative images beautifully shot by David Goodman.

Samuel Pettit and Sean Rose are excellent together as inseparable bosom buddies since childhood, while Deb Lewis is good at the start of the film as Luke’s concerned and understanding teacher.

No story, just a situation, this visual poem is accompanied by lyrical piano music by Beethoven and Schumann. There’s not much dialogue, but what there is, is thoughtfully and intelligently written by Mark Thiedeman.

Release dates: May 16, 2013 (US premiere) and July 13, 2013 (Outfest Film Festival).

Runtime: 73 minutes.

Jonah (Sean Rose): ‘The truth is I idolise him. I think he’s perfect. I would give up everything for Luke.’

Luke (Samuel Pettit): ‘I once asked my dad, “How do you know you found the right person?” And he said, “You just know. You find someone you don’t mind being around”.’

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,689

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