Kate Winslet

Saoirse Ronan

Gemma Jones

James McArdle

Alec Secăreanu

Fiona Shaw

Sarah White

Liam Thomas

Sam Parks

Claire Rushbrook

Nick Pearse

Victoria Elliott

Beatrice Curnew

Susie Baxter

Gethin Alderman

Robert Purdy

Max Dowler

Paul Dodds

John Mackay

Mladen Petrov

Wendy Nottingham

David Juritz

Ben Hancox

James Boyd

Peter Gregson

Michael Hennessy

Harvey Scrimshaw

Ben Winkler

Ali Griffiths

Ivana Primorac

Michael O'Connor

Iain Canning

Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly

Emile Sherman

Francis Lee

Stéphane Fontaine

Volker Bertelmann

Chris Wyatt

Dustin O'Halloran

Johnnie Burn

Robert How

Zygi Kamasa

Sarah Finlay

Simon Gillis

Rose Garnett

Nicky Earnshaw

Fiona Weir

Mary Burke

Sophie Hervieu

Richard Field

Emma Harrison

Simon Hedges

Charlotte Rogers

Guy Bevitt

Lucy Andrews

Polly Jefferies

Jess Alexander

Gemma Nunn

Deborah Harding

Rebecca Todd

Ewan Robertson

Cara Walker

Georgina Millett

India Jaques

Paddy Paddison

Dina Karklina

Alfred Golding

Hannah Jennings

Anu Anderson

Jim Hajicosta

Crispin Layfield

Catharine Brown

Eddy Pearce

Simone Charnley

Caoimhe Doyle

Paddy Eason

Bill Brown

Katie Adamson

Holly Rosenthal

Daniel Vico

Jo Vaughan

Nigel Moore

Tihamer Laszlo

Vincent Goodsell

Ozan Yildiri

Péter Pejtsik

Sara Kuna

Rosie Sinfield

Trisha Joyce

Rob Davies

Calin Nicoara

Oscar Burn

Phil Cape

Lesley-Ann Halls

Colin Strachan

Grace Clark

Ziggy Gray

Jenny Gauci

Dan Marbrook

Jan Andres

Chloe Taylor

Helena Beeson

Christian Muresan

Sorin Pop

Dave Creed

Brendan Feeney

Maurizio Di Vitto

Agatha A. Nitecka

Alisdair McCabe

Paul Molinaro

Mark Shrapnell-Smith

Dan Turner

Tom Cowlishaw

Tila Sampaio Diogo

Jesse Jeune

Robert J. Dugdale

Lana Rake Lasmane

Max King

Danit Kiblansky

Jonjo Stickland

Neil Samels

Jonathan Rush

Bryan Senti

Romance

Drama

Ammonite

See-Saw Films

United Kingdom

English

affectation

melancholy

paleontologist

biography

lesbian relationship

period drama

lgbt

fossil

19th century

calm

candid

dorset

anxious

lesbian

absurd

dramatic

admiring

adoring

ambiguous

ambivalent

approving

awestruck

baffled

complicated

enchant

exuberant

familiar

gentle

gloomy

melodramatic

SWITCH.

Much like its protagonist, 'Ammonite' is a film that initially keeps you at a distance - but this is a deliberate decision, one that makes the embrace of the final act all the more powerful. This isn't a sweeping story of passionate love, but a journey back <i>to</i> love, and a journey with an unexpected destination. Perhaps what Mary is looking for - the true fossil she is trying to uncover within herself - is not the connection of another person but the connection with herself, a forgotten part of herself long-buried or taken away. Charlotte is the path to that salvation, and in turn, is led out of the darkness herself, returned to a kind of love and passion thought lost, and giddy at the finding of it. 'Ammonite' is such a beautiful, soulful and intelligent film, made with honesty, integrity and an unexpected sense of humour that breaks through the rock encasing it. It confirms that our faith in Francis Lee is well-founded, and offers yet another classic queer drama that pushes against the expectations of the kinds of lives these films can explore.
- Daniel Lammin

Read Daniel's full article...
https://www.maketheswitch.com.au/article/review-ammonite-francis-lee-delivers-another-beautiful-portrait-of-love-and-longing

Peter McGinn

As entertainment, I enjoyed watching Ammonite. The protagonist, Mary Anning, is an intriguing woman. She is prickly and somewhat anti-social, at least to strangers. Yet she puts up with oppressive behavior by her mother, perhaps to keep the peace or because they are family. She is dedicated to her pursuit of science through paleontology, but also pays the bills by creating what amount to trinkets to sell to tourists. She is interesting, which isn’t a bad thing in a main character.

But Mary Anning was a real person, and as such, the filmmakers “elevated” her story by involving her in a lesbian relationship that was not supported by any historical evidence. This is what movies do, and it does add to the plot, though it was small consolation to a descendant of Mary Anning, who questioned whether it was polite to the historical figure to do so. I am reminded of the movie Cinderella Man, directed by the talented Ron Howard, where boxer Max Baer’s son protested because Howard had made Max more vicious than he was. Baer was playful and even boxers he fought liked him outside the ring. But this is what directors do.

One possible result of that added subplot is the enigmatic ending. We are left wondering about the ultimate relationship of the two women, and perhaps that is at least partly because history is so vague on Mary Anning’s sexuality in general.

But this is not a documentary; it is a biopic, a different animal altogether, as I alluded to it above. If this movie hadn’t’t been made, flawed factual details in all, I would never have heard of Mary Anning at all. So I think her legacy and her place in history is ultimately improved by the film. Sometimes, in fact, a popular biopic leads to increased interest and attention for a historical character. That can’t be a bad thing, can it?

CinemaSerf

This is a beautifully crafted piece of work from Francis Lee and Stéphane Fontaine that depicts the rather downtrodden existence of 19th century English paleontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) who spends much of her time combing the beach for shells and fossils that she restores and sells in a small shop she shares with her ailing mother (Gemma Jones). The arrival of the enthusiastic Roderick Murchison (James McArdle) and his wife Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan) changes her pretty breadline, dreary, routine as he, initially, pays her to show him how to spot the ammonite but then leaves his poorly wife in her care to recuperate from an as yet undefined malady. The story is essentially about how the two women bond, and about how that bond intensifies and it features two very strong performances from the leads who struggle with their delicately smouldering relationship. Together with Lee, they manage to deliver a sense of their longing in a largely un-passionate - yet not sterile - fashion. The snag is that the film really, really, lacks pace and characterisation. It's not that is needs to be a full-on sex-fest, it's that their dialogue is sparing to the point of frugality. Why do they bond? At times their affinity is hard to fathom; terse even - and there is a maternal affinity that seems to compromise the potency of their chemistry as people who are falling in love. There are a couple touching contributions from Fiona Shaw and Gemma Jones (sort of reprises her role from "God's Own Country" (2017)) and there is an explicit swipe at the male-driven scientific community that did it's best to discourage/ignore the obvious skills possessed by Anning, but as a film for the big screen it just lacks depth - we are left to guess/assume way too much and it left me feeling just a bit empty.

Full review: <a>https://www.tinakakadelis.com/beyond-the-cinerama-dome/2021/12/28/between-a-rock-and-a-hard-place-ammonite-review<a>

Despite the fact that production and filming began prior to Celine Sciamma’s exquisite _Portrait of a Lady on Fire_, Francis Lee’s _Ammonite_ was released after it and cannot escape the comparison. The two films are similar in that both take place in secluded oceanside locales, focus on a lesbian relationship, and are period pieces. However, that is where the similarities end. While _Portrait of a Lady on Fire_ soars, _Ammonite_ stumbles.

Ammonite - 'Charlotte asks to accompany Mary' - Official Clip - Own it on Blu-Ray & DVD Now

Ammonite - 'Excavating' - Official Clip - Download & Keep and Own it on Blu-Ray & DVD Now

Ammonite - 'Drawing' - Official Clip - Download & Keep and Own it on Blu-Ray & DVD Now

AMMONITE In My Dreams Trailer - Now Playing In Theaters and On Demand

Ammonite - Official Trailer

AMMONITE Q&A with Producers Iain Canning and Fodhla Cronin O'Reilly | BFI London Film Festival 2020

Ammonite( 2020)

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A review by SWITCH.

Written by SWITCH. on Sun Nov 15 2020

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