Direction: Francis Lee
Country: UK
Ammonite is the sophomore feature from British director Francis Lee, who squeezes in a good portion of authenticity as a result of the symbiotic performances by Kate Winslet (Titanic; Sense and Sensibility) and Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird; Little Women). Just like in his previous drama, God’s Own Country (2017), Lee addresses the topic of homosexuality, employing a specific backdrop marked by prejudice and conservatism. Even so, he manages to give the story a hopeful ending.
Set in the mid-19th-century England, the film was loosely inspired by the independent British paleontologist and fossil collector Mary Anning (Winslet), chronicling a hypothetical romance between the latter and Charlotte Murchison (Ronan), the quiet spouse of a wealthy visitor (James McArdle) with an interest in fossils. Convalescing from the loss of a baby, the melancholy Charlotte remains in the little seashore village of Lyme Regis for a few more weeks while her husband takes part in an expedition. During this period, she develops a special bond with Mary that will change their lives forever.
Combining the realism of the unpolished milieu and the sensitivity of a quietly passionate romance, the film gives a fine perspective to the changing role of women at a particularly difficult time for intimate same-sex relationships.
Although exuding a pleasing old-fashioned appeal, the film owes less to the course of its plot than to the authentic performances. In the absence of surprise, it’s precisely the decorous acting of the leads and the peculiar luminosity in the work of French cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine, who worked with Jacques Audiard, Paul Verhoeven and Pablo Larraín, that make the film worth seeing.
