Francis Lee’s debut God’s Own Country was a tender portrait of countryside love, hailed as one of the best British films of 2017. So eyes were on Lee to deliver something just as triumphant with Ammonite, the filmmaker’s sophomore feature exploring the love and companionship of another same-sex couple in 1840s England – and the coveted closing gala choice for this year’s BFI London Film Festival.
Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) is one of the country’s best palaeontologists, although she’s often shunned by her male peers who turn their noses at her academic accolades. However, it’s certainly enough to catch the eye of budding scientist Roderick (James McArdle) and his wife Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan) who accompany Anning on her trips to the beach to study rocks and uncover fossils. But Charlotte suffers from mild melancholia and when Roderick has to leave for work, he leaves her in the care of Mary to take up palaeontology and enjoy the coastal air although the women forge a much deeper connection.
Sharing DNA with last year’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Ammonite is a similarly subdued lesbian love-story set in a rural town that starts as a reluctant companionship. Story aside, some shots and settings will certainly draw comparisons to Celine Sciamma’s acclaimed latest – with this feeling like a spiritual successor of sorts to Portrait. Ammonite is less soulful and more trite in its observations, has a colder approach to the material that keeps audiences at arms reach. Both characters find solace amidst each other’s company – Anning is introverted while Charlotte is lost without her husband – but it’s not enough reason for them to fall in love. And the glaring issue with Lee’s script is that their transition from companions to lovers just feels so contrived and a little lacking.
The relationship isn’t articulated well. Audiences aren’t afforded the chance to get to know either Mary or Charlotte – despite both of their real-life achievements and complex histories. While it’s certainly a ‘slow-build’, none of the time is really spent on building that central relationship because of stilted, archetypal characters that never let each other in – let alone the audience. Instead, it’s just tedious to watch because we’re detached from their relationship. It doesn’t help, then, that Winslet and Ronan have little in the way of chemistry. Both actors do great work with the material they’re given in very against-type casting – this is to be a given though because they’re both great – but their dynamic feels clumsy and awkward. Not in a “meet-cute” kind of way either that makes their romance adorable but, rather, just forced.
It’s admittedly a well-constructed piece of work. Cinematographer Stéphane Fontaine’s aesthetic is polished and pretty; the coastal setting lends itself nicely to some gorgeous shots with the muted colour palette. Sarah Finlay and Michael O’Connor have also designed a lavish period as production and costume designer, respectively, and Lee brings the various elements together competently enough. But it misses the mark. Ammonite is a handsomely designed parcel that lacks in content. Dour, sullen characters inhabit a visually neat but cold, muted world and the audiences never warm to any of it. And it all climaxes with gratuitous sex scenes that are pointless because they don’t feel earned because the relationship is mishandled. A vital rule for crafting any romance: conviction is necessary for the film to work. Without that, you’re just treading water. And, sadly, that’s what Ammonite spends the majority of its runtime doing.
Ammonite
Summary
Ammonite is a handsomely designed parcel that lacks in content. Lee brings the various elements together competently enough. But it misses the mark.
