At first glance, the recently-released coming-of-age thriller/drama appears to rehash familiar pop culture tropes: a nuclear family moves to a "picture-postcard perfect [Southern Californian] paradise" to refashion their lives, family tensions intensify behind the picturesque and privileged facades, an introverted protagonist finds solace and a sense of control while mastering the waves via her surfboard. The book the film was based on was nevertheless published two decades ago (in 1997), and its author, Joy Nicholson, was lauded for her ability to bring her adolescent protagonist "fully and incontrovertibly to life", as well as for her ability to evoke a vivid mood and setting. The movie plays up the strengths of its source text by juxtaposing the domestic turmoil of its characters against the glittering blue waves of the Pacific Ocean, which tantalizingly hint at the rejuvenation and tranquility that will elude the film's main characters.
Bahamas (the stage name of Toronto-based singer/songwriter Afie Jurvanen) beautifully evokes the film's mood and emotional landscape with "My Love", a song that makes for a perfect semantic fit with his upcoming album Earthtones (Jan. 19, 2018). The processed vocals and tête-à-tête with an unnamed female vocalist make for a more (sonically) maximalist and atmospheric track than his usual work, which is counterbalanced with a newfound lyrical minimalism. His ability to invoke contemplation with his soulful voice and a few guitar chords are put to great use once again in this slow-burning ode to summer love. Jurvanen sings of a transcendent romantic connection in a seaside setting ('From the earth, from the sand/ You and me, made by hand/ Round and round, on the wheel/ The way it is, the way it feels'), punctuated with sultry murmurs and coos. The languid spell they cast breaks towards the end of the song, as his female companion points towards the film's emotional freefall in a flurry of vocal harmonies: 'Do I even know you at all?'
