Lightweight fun conflicts with harsh reality in the coming-of-age drama Girls Can't Swim. This bittersweet story captures the turbulent friendship between two very different girls in the French beach town of Brittany. With her messy long blonde hair and frantic energy, Gwen (Isild Le Besco) just wants to have a constant stream of summer fun. She is physical with everyone, throwing her limbs around, jumping on motorbikes, and generally thrilled by life. Her adventurous streak is thrown into conflict with the presence of her best friend Lise (Karen Alyx), whom she has been communicating with through personal letters. With bobbed red hair and a deadpan face, the brooding poet Lise is already troubled by her father's recent death and her inability to mourn along with the rest of her family. She is even more disturbed by Gwen's sexual awakening and lack of interest in their friendship; clearly their naïve childhood is over. As Lise grows more intense and friendly with Alain (Pascal Elso), Gwen grows more careless and distant, leading to a strange and terrible conclusion. For all the warm moments between characters in their pajamas, tenderly climbing into bed together and sharing hugs, the sunny beach is still captured as cold, rocky, and windy. After the initial bond between the best friends is honestly built with humane quirks, the final act is a jarring move into serious dramatic territory. The sexual tension between the two girls is evident in several intimate scenes, also some business with a fish tank is probably meant to suggest the budding sexuality lurking underneath their behavior. The major shifts in tone can be difficult to accept, but it ultimately results in an honest, sensitive portrayal of a teenage friendship.