"My Summer of Love" is this summer's most intoxicating and intriguing romance. From Pawel Pawlikowski, the award-winning director of "Last Resort," comes a tale of obsession and deception, and the struggle for love and faith in a world where both seem impossible.

The passionate, droll, and mysterious drama features striking performances from its two lead actresses, both of whom are movie newcomers.

The film vibrantly charts the emotional and physical hothouse effects that bloom one summer for two young women (Natalie Press and Emily Blunt). Mona (played by Ms. Press), behind a spiky exterior, hides an untapped intelligence and a yearning for something beyond the emptiness of her daily life. Tamsin (Ms. Blunt) is well-educated, spoiled and cynical. As they are complete opposites, each is wary of the other's differences when they first meet, but this coolness soon melts into mutual fascination, amusement and attraction.

Adding further volatility is Mona's older brother Phil (Paddy Considine), who has renounced his criminal past for religious fervor – which he tries to impose upon his sister. Mona, however, is experiencing her own rapture. "We must never be parted," Tamsin intones to Mona... but can Mona completely trust her?