''Shadows in the Sun'' is a 2009 British independent film directed by David Rocksavage and starring

James Wilby James Jonathon Wilby (born 20 February 1958) is an English actor. Early life and education Wilby was born in Rangoon, Burma to a corporate executive father. He was educated at Terrington Hall School, North Yorkshire and Sedbergh School in Cu ...

, Jean Simmons,

Jamie Dornan James Peter Maxwell Dornan (; born 1 May 1982) is an actor, model and musician from Northern Ireland. Formerly a character actor, he often portrays solemn, steady characters. The recipient of two Irish Film and Television Awards, he has been n ...

and

Ophelia Lovibond Ophelia Lucy Lovibond (born 19 February 1986) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Carina in the film ''Guardians of the Galaxy,'' Izzy Gould in the BBC's ''W1A'', Joyce Prigger in HBO's ''Minx'', and Kitty Winter in CBS's ''Ele ...

Plot

A mysterious stranger brings together a family that has lost its way. Hannah (Jean Simmons) is suffering from a chronic illness, smoking

cannabis ''Cannabis'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the family Cannabaceae. The number of species within the genus is disputed. Three species may be recognized: ''Cannabis sativa'', '' C. indica'', and '' C. ruderalis''. Alternatively ...

for respite, and has formed an unlikely friendship with a much younger man, Joe (

). She lives perfectly happily with her poetry, garden and friend Joe but when Hannah's son Robert (James Wilby) arrives with his teenage daughter Kate (

) and younger son, Sam (

Toby Marlow Toby Marlow (born 12 October 1994) is a British composer, writer, and actor best known for co-creating the international hit musical ''Six (musical), Six'' with Lucy Moss. ''Six'' received five 2019 Laurence Olivier Awards, Olivier Award nominat ...

), he is discomfited by his mother's arrangements.

Production

Set in the coastal region of north

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

the film saw the return of Jean Simmons to the screen after a decade away. It was her last film. The film is set in the 1960s and made use of locations at

Walsingham Walsingham () is a civil parish in North Norfolk, England, famous for its religious shrines in honour of Mary, mother of Jesus. It also contains the ruins of two medieval Christian monasticism, monastic houses.Ordnance Survey (2002). ''OS Exp ...

Holkham Holkham is a small village and civil parish in north Norfolk, England, which includes a stately home and estate, Holkham Hall, and a beach, Holkham Gap, at the centre of Holkham National Nature Reserve. Geography The parish has an area of and ...

and

Brancaster Brancaster is a village and civil parish on the north coast of the English county of Norfolk. The civil parish of Brancaster comprises Brancaster itself, together with Brancaster Staithe and Burnham Deepdale. The three villages form a more or l ...

. Poetry extracts heard in the film include ''

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ''Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám'' is the title that Edward FitzGerald gave to his 1859 translation from Persian to English of a selection of quatrains (') attributed to Omar Khayyam (1048–1131), dubbed "the Astronomer-Poet of Persia". Alth ...

'' from a translation by Edward FitzGerald, ''

The Character of a Happy Life Sir Henry Wotton (; 30 March 1568 – December 1639) was an English author, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1614 and 1625. When on a mission to Augsburg, in 1604, he famously said, "An ambassador is an honest gentlema ...

'' by

Henry Wotton Sir Henry Wotton (; 30 March 1568 – December 1639) was an English author, diplomat and politician who sat in the House of Commons in 1614 and 1625. When on a mission to Augsburg, in 1604, he famously said, "An ambassador is an honest gentlema ...

, W.B. Yeats, ''When You Are Old'', and ''Variations'' by

Conrad Aiken Conrad Potter Aiken (August 5, 1889 – August 17, 1973) was an American writer and poet, honored with a Pulitzer Prize and a National Book Award, and was United States Poet Laureate from 1950 to 1952. His published works include poetry, short st ...

References

External links

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film4 shadows in the sun reviews
* primefocusgroup shadows sun giant film
shadows sun giant films
2009 films Films set in England British drama films 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{2000s-UK-film-stub