Peak Season Review: Vibrant Summer Romance

Peak Season takes the universal concept of love and transforms it into something achingly singular through beautiful imagery and fun characters.

The film follows a woman named Amy (Claudia Restrepo) and her husband Max (Ben Coleman) during their supposedly romantic retreat into the Wyoming mountains. When Max is pulled away on business, Amy spends the rest of her vacation with the local fishing instructor Loren (Derrick Joseph DeBlasis) and finds everything that she’s been looking for in her floundering marriage.

The first obstacle that Peak Season has to overcome is that, by definition, we’re really not supposed to root for this budding romance. Amy is married, Loren has just come out of a long-term relationship, and everything is happening behind Max’s back. It’s a difficult situation to root for, but the film does a great job of ensuring that everything evolves organically, and placing us inside Amy’s mind to understand why she makes the decisions that she does. It’s a very simple story on the surface, one of self-discovery and compromise, but it’s the details in Peak Season that make it so compelling. Every scene feels intentionally crafted to drive this story along – which is why the short runtime of 80 minutes feels so warranted. It’s a story that gradually unfolds with purpose, bringing the audience along on this whirlwind romance that’s over before you really realise it’s begun.

For a fairly low-budget indie drama, Peak Season has some absolutely gorgeous cinematography. The sprawling landscapes of Jackson Hole, Wyoming are stunning to look at, and the peaceful atmosphere that runs through the entire film makes certain scenes feel almost dreamline in their serenity. Importantly, the location also plays the role of a character in this story: it’s hugely important in explaining why these characters are like they are, and how their lives have evolved to the point where they’re both so dissatisfied in themselves. It’s reminiscent of films like Before Sunrise and Past Lives, not just in its subject matter of lost love, but also in the way that the settings are massively important in understanding the actions of the characters. This is a place almost separated from the ‘real world’, and it forces Amy and Loren to question who they are within themselves.

Despite its brief runtime, Peak Season also unfolds in a uniquely slow and methodical way. Some audiences may see this as a criticism, but there’s actually something to be praised about the way this story consistently drives forward without anything really ‘happening’. All of the most memorable scenes are just conversations between Amy and Loren, whether they’re hiking up mountains or drinking at a bar – it’s the dialogue and rich character work that makes everything click here. There doesn’t need to be something important happening in every scene, particularly when the conversations being had are this meaningful and universal. Peak Season delivers its hopeful messages of love, sacrifice, and acceptance without saying much at all, which is a huge accomplishment.

Within the first few minutes, Peak Season proves itself to be a great hidden gem for lovers of the genre – and by the end, it cements itself as one of the year’s best films overall. The kind of story that’s impossible not to fall into, and despite a few hiccups along the way, it resolves in a brilliantly emotional way that feels true to the spirit of this narrative. Whether it’s a happy or sad ending truly depends on what you’ve taken away from the story, and that’s a clear sign that there’s something uniquely human and individual about the storytelling on display. 

Peak Season will be released in select US theaters on August 2, 2024.