Synopsis
Part love story and probing social commentary, Scarborough explores the impulsive nature of forbidden love and its unpredictable consequences. The dilapidated charm of the Victorian hotel makes for an interesting counterpoint with the teenage lovers’ youthful optimism and careless passion. Directed by Barnaby Southcombe (“I, Anna”), the film stars Jodhi May (“Ginger & Rosa”), Jordan Bolger (“iBoy”, “Peaky Blinders”), Edward Hogg (“Imagine”, “Anonymous”) and Jessica Barden (“The Lobster”, “Far From the Madding Crowd”) in the lead roles, and is produced by Christopher Granier-Deferre (“Lady Macbeth”, “The Levelling”, “Apostasy”).
Two mismatched lovers arrive at the British seaside town of Scarborough, seeking an escape from the constraints of real life. Liz, desperately shy and beautiful, seems older than her companion, the happy-go-lucky and impulsive Daz. In their faded hotel room, amongst the peeling wallpaper and away from the prying eyes of their hometown, they laugh, quarrel, make love and enjoy their anonymity. In an identical room in the same hotel, the sensitive artist Aiden and Beth, a fiery and impulsive young woman, tell the same story. As both couples are forced to come to terms with the illicit nature of their love, power shifts from one lover to the other, and joy turns to suffering as they reel from the destructive force of unbridled love.
The hotel rooms are the couples’ safe haven, but also a self-imposed prison, avoiding as they must the outside world. After all, at barely 16 years old, two of them are still at school.... and the other two, their own teachers.