Film Review: GRIFFIN IN SUMMER
by Kathryn Loggins
Nicholas Colia, United States, 2024
As a theater kid, I must admit that GRIFFIN IN SUMMER, a coming-of-age film written and directed by Nicholas Colia, hit very close to home. It also caught the eye of the judges at this year’s Tribeca Festival where the film won the awards for Best U.S. Narrative Feature and Best Screenplay in a U.S. Narrative Feature. This charming film opens at a talent show where two teenagers are poorly singing a rendition of Chicago’s “You’re the Inspiration”. I started cackling right away. Next up at the talent show is our protagonist Griffin Nafly (Everett Blunck), an ambitious fourteen-year-old playwright, who performs a scene from his new very serious dramatic play “Regrets of Autumn” and acts out both parts. His commitment is delectable, and it sets the tone of the movie beautifully.
It’s summer and Griffin has big plans. He is gathering his friends together to stage his new play and takes this task very seriously. When his friends don’t show him the effort and dedication he is expecting, he turns his sights to the enigmatic twenty-five-year-old Brad (Owen Teague), whom his mom (Melanie Lynskey) hired to help out around the house for the summer. Though Griffin is somewhat spurned by Brad’s dubious nature at first, he quickly becomes intrigued by the failed performer’s mysterious behavior and artistic merit. Griffin invites Brad to be a part of his play, further alienating his friends in the process. During a rehearsal, Brad scares these poor kids half to death by giving a performance that may be truthful but is much too aggressive for a teenage audience. But Griffin is determined that this is the kind of dedication he wants and continues to pursue Brad at any cost. Searching for a meaningful connection with Brad both personally and artistically, Griffin makes all the mistakes of a young teenager who believes that he is in love. The story unfolds in a way that is somewhat predictable but does not feel unrealistic or untruthful. Griffin’s quest to find love and purpose is something we all experience in our lives at a time when we are forming who we are and who we are meant to be and that makes this film both poignant and heartwarming.
In his director’s statement, Nicholas Colia says that part of his inspiration for GRIFFIN IN SUMMER stemmed from his own experience of filming various plays and films out of his parents' basement when he was a teen. He recovered old VHS tapes of these productions and was struck by their “unintentional absurdity.” Colia goes on to say, “While Griffin is not my exact autobiography…these shows were still just a bunch of young teens in bad wigs, with wrinkles drawn on their faces, sipping fake martinis as they discuss their divorces.” That is quite amusing to think about and Colia is able to capture that absurdity, while also bringing beautiful sincerity to his film. He deftly tells the story of a young teen striving for artistic professionalism, who is also confronted with the loss of his childhood and his own complicated move into adulthood.
