The first teaser trailer and early reviews of Charlie MacDowell’s feature film adaptation of Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book are out. The film, starring 8-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close as the grandmother and debuting actress Emily Matthews as her grandchild Sophia, is praised as a delicate reflection of the cycle of life and death.

The long-awaited adaptation of Jansson’s novel, directed by Charlie McDowell, premiered at the BFI London Film Festival on 12 October 2024. Below is the first teaser: 

The first reviews of The Summer Book were released after the international festival premiere in London. The film is lauded for its beautiful cinematography and locations, the work of the actors as well as the illuminating attention to detail.

The Hollywood Reporter calls it a “delicate reflection of the cycle of life and death” and writes “The deep roots of the writer’s emotional and physical connection to the place provide a foundation for the slender story. Those qualities are fully manifested in Close’s finely etched characterization. The unnamed grandmother is a hardy woman quite content to live with minimal comforts in an unheated, rustic house even as her health declines. She passes on that love of the island — its rocks and mosses and patches of pine forest — to her granddaughter Sophia (bright newcomer Emily Matthews) in intimate exchanges throughout.”

Screen Daily calls it a “restful meditation on the natural world” and further writes “To read about the Eastern Gulf of Finland is one thing, but to see it depicted here is always wonderful. McDowell, who previously directed The Discovery, works with DoP Sturla Brandth Grøvlen again to present a film in which nature is emphasised, but cinematography does its own quiet work. The place is beautiful because it simply is, not just because it’s lit to look that way.”

Indiewire calls the actor Glenn Close the film’s “secret weapon” and goes on “Specifically, it is her steady gaze and calm repose, her weathered wrinkles (props to makeup designer Riikka Virtanen and Close’s makeup artist, Chloe Sens) and most notably, the bend of her back effected by a lifetime of intelligent hunches that make her the most sturdy member of the family, not a matriarch as much as a seer, her diminishing eyesight still far reaching.”

The Summer Book film was shot in the Finnish archipelago and will be released in Finnish movie theatres on 31 January 2025.

In the US, the film will first screen at AFI Fest in Los Angeles, October 23-25, 2024. The screening will be followed by a conversation with the director and AFI alumn Charlie McDowell and the actors Glenn Close and Anders Danielsen Lie. After that, a screening at the Virginia Film Festival will follow on November 3. More release news to follow.

Below is the first released scene from the film:

The Summer Book is a much-loved classic and bestseller in Nordic fiction. It depicts the unique relationship between an elderly grandmother, played by eight-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close, and her granddaughter Sophia, played by Emily Matthews. This is the first film role for Matthews, who lives in Finland. Sophia’s father is played by Anders Danielsen Lie, a Norwegian actor known for example for The Worst Person in the World.

Director Charlie McDowell, a Tove Jansson and Moomin fan himself, says the novel is very dear to him:

“I’m deeply honoured to be adapting one of my favourite novels, Tove Jansson’s The Summer Book, and to film in Finland, the beautiful country in which this story is based. It’s long been a dream of mine to work with Glenn Close. I’ve long admired her thoughtfulness, immense versatility, and deeply captivating presence both on the stage and on screen. I first discovered Anders Danielsen Lie from his brilliant collaborations with Joachim Trier and he’s quickly become one of my favorite actors out of Scandinavia. I can’t imagine a more magnificent duo to collaborate with on this film.”

The Summer Book – a personal favourite of Tove Jansson

The Summer Book is the most beloved of Tove Jansson’s adult fiction novels, with readers all over the globe returning to it year after year for summer reading. Written in 1972 by Tove Jansson, it’s a life-affirming story about the friendship between an elderly artist and Sophia, her six-year-old grand-daughter while away a summer together on a tiny island in the gulf of Finland. The book was very personal for Tove Jansson, and it was also one of her favourites. It has been hailed as a masterpiece by critics and audiences alike and has been translated into 35 languages. For Tove Jansson’s niece Sophia Jansson it also feels very special to see such a dear story on a movie screen:

“The Summer Book is dear to many readers around the world, and it holds a very special place in my heart. Every word of it ushers in vivid childhood memories of my beloved grandmother – her voice, her way of relating to and moving around the island. Seeing that story finally come alive on the big screen will be fantastic and moving on a deeply personal level.”

Sophia Jansson is often asked whether the girl Sophia in the book is based on her.

Acclaimed actors and newcomers

Eight-time Academy Award nominee Glenn Close, who stars in  Lee Daniels’ exorcism thriller The Deliverance on Netflix, has been a fixture within the entertainment industry for half a century.

Joining her in the role as the father is Anders Danielsen Lie, who earned rave reviews and international acclaim for the recent Academy Award nominated film The Worst Person in the World.

The role of Sophia marks the film debut of Emily Matthews.

Charlie McDowell is a writer, director and producer. His directorial debut, The one I love, starred Mark Duplass and Elisabeth Moss and got rave reviews when it premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival. In 2017, McDowell co-wrote and directed The Discovery starring Jason Segel, Rooney Mara, Jesse Plemons and Robert Redford and recently released Windfall on Netflix in 2021 with Lily Collins, Jesse Plemons and Jason Segal.

The Summer Book film production team

The film was adapted for the screen by Robert Jones and co-financed by High Frequency Entertainment and Hurst Capital. The project marks the latest release from Case Study Films, the production company director McDowell founded with Alex Orlovsky and wife Lily Collins. 

Additional producers are Kevin Loader for Free Range Films, Duncan Montgomery for High Frequency Entertainment, Aleksi Bardy for Helsinki Film, who also produced the acclaimed biopic Tove, Kath Mattock for Stille Productions and McDowell and Alex Orlovsky for Case Study Films. Executive producers include Jack Selby for High Frequency, Arthur Farache and Victoria Castelli for Hurst Capital and Lily Collins for Case Study Films. Lily Collins is also starring in the new Moomin Phenomenon podcast, which you can listen to and read more about here.

Here you can find some of the most touching quotes from The Summer Book.

The Summer Book is published by Sort of Books in English and in its original language, Swedish, by Förlaget in Finland.

Cover photo from the film by Roxana Reiss.