A review of the new film “Ammonite”

I had expected a celebration of the talent of an under-appreciated female scientist (like “Radioactive”) but instead found a tender tale of a lesbian relationship between a talented woman and her mentee ( a bit like “Portrait Of A Lady On Fire”). The reality is that there is absolutely no evidence of a relationship between early 19th century palaeontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet), known later as ‘The Fossil Finder’, and Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan).

I would have preferred either a fuller biographical representation of a real life scientist or an exploration of a fictional 19th century lesbian friendship but, if we overlook the conceit of writer and director Francis Lee (who is himself gay), we have a powerful piece of film-making.

This was my first visit to a cinema in many months after the third lockdown of pandemic Britain and it was a sheer joy to experience a large screen, wonderful sound and an audience in a dark theatre. The last time that I saw Lyme Regis in a film was “The French Lieutenant’s Woman” and since then I’ve actually visited this historic town with its nearby ammonite-rich Jurassic coast.

Although the slow and languid treatment is more art house than might be expected, the cinematography – all muted colours and atmospheric sound – is a delight and Winslet and Ronan are magnificent with a script that often involves repressed body language and sparse dialogue. At the end of it all, one longs to visit the British Museum and see some of Anning’s spectacular finds.


 




XHTML: You can use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <s> <strike> <strong>