Ammonite

I have this film, since early february, I bought it on a Blu-ray Disc (a plain and hurried up production), January 17 at amazon.com (US). Since then I watched this movie four-times, and read some interviews with the director Francis Lee, the costume designer Michael O'Connor, and the actors Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan.I (usually) don’t read "professional" reviews about films, because these are mostly unprofessional, driven by personal taste, like or dislike, preconception. The latter is properly toxic, when critics expect something, almost concrete, about a story, what they do not known. And after they looked the film, which isn't fit their preconcept, they write negative reviews about it. (That's okay, if these are the buyers opinion, because the opinion is free.) But when professional journalists or publicists write spectacularly biased reviews that's a big deal. Sadly this film nor an exception. In my experience, some critics are unable to understanding, or they’re - perhaps intentionally - totally misunderstanding the clearly overt meaning of the film.Mary Anning (Kate Winslet), is a scientist (palaentologist). But isn't a member of scientific association, because she's a woman. "All boys together." - as she says with sour tone to Mr. Roderick Murchison (James McArdle), who not just rich "a fine gentleman and connoisseur ", but a member of the Geological Society. A complete skull of a primitive being, which revealed by Mary, and which exhibited at British Museum, got a new label with a male professor's name. Her detailed descriptions, scientifically demanding drawings about artefacts which she founds, are never was published. She lives with her ill mother (Gemma Jones), on the southern seaside, collect ammonites for sell to tourists. So, she is totally ignored as a scientist, and inside, she's really angry on this! Ms. Anning is aloof, bitter, lonely, and really poor. She doesn't looking of any kind of company around herself, therefore she seems a bit haughty, while she live only to her work.Not so like Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), ethereal, brittle, young wife of Mr. Murchison. She wears beautiful, fine dresses and accessories. She is carefully groomed, and has fashionable hairdo. She don't need to work, instead she has maid. Yet she doesn't happy. Alongside her husband, she feels herself worthless. Mr. Murchison neglects her, without any hesitate or apologies, not only at the restaurant, but in the bed, when he rejects her gorgeous wife. Mrs. Murchison live in a marriage, yet solitary. Pale, reticent, sad. "Mild melancholia, perhaps?" - as Mr. Murchison says to Mary, when he left his wife in Lyme Regis to take care of her, for money, what it Ms. Anning so desperately need.There are many differences between the two women. First, where they came from and how they live. Mary is much older, poorer, less care herself (she has dirty nails, smokes cigarette), not so sophisticated, than Charlotte. But their also have some common attributions. Both women are intelligent, sensitive, desolate. Both ignored by men, for Charlotte, in truly frustrating, for Mary, in rather infuriating way. Finally, both women yearnings to sensual touch but at the first glance they don’t think of each other as possible partners.Initially Mary is dismissive with Charlotte, who in Mary's sight, just a spoiled bored goose. Charlotte feels herself unappreciated by Mary, so she takes alone a "healthy" sea bath, but the stormy cold water makes her sick. At the next day, she faints into Mary's arms, who must becomes a nurse on the advice of Dr. Lieberson (Alec Secareanu) - who is attracted to Mary - even though she doesn't want to nurtures Charlotte. While the young fragile woman lie in unconscious fever, Mary gently cares her through day and night, and spends of her hard earned money on medicinal ointment. These days makes arousals Mary's affection for Charlotte.After her convalescence, Charlotte immediately recognizes restraint affection of Mary, and delicately encourages her to express it. But Mary keeps the distance between them, because she doesn't have experience how can communicate openly her own feelings. Charlotte gently revels on her, while she so yearns for Mary's gravitas, just she doesn't knows how can opens Mary's seclusions.A bit later, they're already able to searches together the shore for ammonites, do housework at Mary's home. While both ladies can increasingly respects each other.Dr. Lieberson's social visit, invitation Mary and Charlotte for a musical evening, is the turning point in the story. At the social event, Mary still aloof, she doesn't feel confident there, while Charlotte shines dazzling. Her effortless elegance, sophisticated easiness, vivid youth and stunning beautiness are enchanting both the local high-society and Mary, who feels anxious jealousy when Elizabeth Philpoth (Fiona Shaw) - the "first lady" there - takes Charlotte into her own company.Mary rapidly leaves the scene, nerve smokes some cigarettes, before she go home, soaked to the skin in the pouring rain. At home, she immediately describes it with passionate words her feelings on Charlotte, namely, pure desire.Soon after also Charlotte arrives to home, she soaked and really upset cause Mary left her alone at the party. "Don't be silly!" - Charlotte said to Mary, when she doesn't wants to shows it what she wrote it to the booklet, which still in her hands. Finally Charlotte grabs the booklet, and read it Mary's words. At this point everything becomes clear - no more obvious secrets! Not much later Charlotte's innocent goodnight kiss turns into passionate kissing/hugging, exploding love affair.I really like the later part of the movie, but the substance of the story is here. All what’s happening after that reinforce the core message, while leaving open the finish of the story. (I won't spoiler!)Some critics cried: "How can be - the until then so restrained Mary - is so much fiery, passionate, open?”In fact: Mary's restraint is repressed anger on desolation, poverty, hopelessness! In real: she has strong desire to get scientific accolade! She's full of passion, full of desire to be loved! She wants an all better life!Charlotte's love freed Mary's mind from worst part of her demons. Mary can feels honest affection. She can enjoys the pleasure of physical love. In Charlotte's arms, she's safe. No more anger, no more loneliness, just pure, all-important love! The feeling of happiness is easy and infinite, makes both women to complete. They're fulfilled their hopes and dreams, both women feels themselves whole and valuable. Two "weak" women also can be full human, without they are get any help or approval from men! This is what this film is about. Sad, that this message is still is on the agenda today!The movie itself technically perfectly executed. Picture quality is lavish (the US released BD is Multi Region, playable anywhere in the world), the cinematography operates plenty close-ups (no big landscapes or broad sets). I like the dim light in the pokey Anning house. The passionate sensual scenes are depicted delicate and tasteful way. The voices projected crystal clear with subtle nuances. The harsh and loud sound of stormy sea - in numerous scenes, which takes place on shore - is overwhelmingly real! The costumes designed and assembled with great care and firmly shows the class differences. Some of them are very fashionable (in 19th century sense), and beautifully crafted, mostly in Mrs. Murchison's wardrobe!The directional work of Francis Lee is very definite. No wonder, because he written the story. Critics' expected more dialogues, and some said "Saoirse Ronan don't plays enough." I think, Mr. Lee let his actors plays in silence in the interest of rather use their acting abilities to express their characters. In addition, Ms. Ronan plays exactly that much, as much as the director allows to her. (Otherwise why would director be needed for making a film?)Kate Winslet, one of the best, and Saoirse Ronan, is the best - and the most beautiful - actress in the world, are absolutely lived with this opportunity! If you able to really see - not just watch - the film, you can reveals hundreds of subtle gestures, glances, movements there. Microscopic resolution of reality - acting masterclass, no doubts!The last emotionally additive for the production is music. The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack composed by Dustin O’Halloran & Volker Bertelmann with Peter Gregson. Contains nine musical batch, totally serving to reinforce the image content. (Unfortunately only available in compressed forms as MPEG-4a on iTunes or MPEG-3 on Amazon. No CD or LP edition - I can't imagine why?) This soundtrack is highly refined and touching, without any rumble. The composers with the music - like the director with the pictures - carefully avoided the cheap melodramatic solutions. No music was written for the climax love scene, for example.One of the kindest scene in the movie, when Saoirse Ronan really playing a musical batch ’Romance in A Minor’, composed by Clara Schumann. Ms. Ronan playing on an Adam Beyer squared piano, which was made in Beyer's workshop at Compton Street, St. Anne's Parish, Soho, North London. Early instrument, burr elm in rich, golden brown colour. With the addressing, which also well visible (earlier) in the film: ’Adam Beyer Londini Fecit 1774’ (Adam Beyer Made [in] London 1774).It is no secret, and it is also clear from my words, that how I'm impressed by Saoirse Ronan. I bought it this film mainly because of her, and again, I wasn't disappointed!I think this film is an important masterpiece with the eternally valid message to all of us, how much we need to honest physical, sentimental, human love! Without that, we're all will fails, no matter what is our sexual orientation.Highly recommended to humans with tender heart and open mind!

Beautiful Movie - Very Good acting and very nice visuals.

As Director, Francis Lee, has made clear, Ammonite is not intended to be a biographical film. Anyone approaching it expecting a historically accurate life of Mary Anning risks being disappointed. The events that made Mary famous as a fossil hunter and palaeontologist – distorted as they were by the prevailing upper class Victorian male lens – are in the past by the time of the film’s setting. The Victorian fad for fossils has abated and Mary, embittered and impoverished by her experiences at the hands of the scientific community, is reduced to selling cheap tourist trinkets combed from the beaches of Lyme Regis.Here she finds herself somewhat implausibly caring for Charlotte Murchison, the young wife of just the kind of gentleman scientist who sought to diminish Mary’s contribution to palaeontology. Charlotte is the stereotypical wan and wistful Victorian wife, made melancholic by loss of her first child and her patriarchal marriage. The pairing of Mary and Charlotte provides the substrate for a slow-build exploration of repressed lesbian sexuality.Nothing is known of Mary Anning’s sexuality beyond some idle speculation in correspondence between her relatives. But the fact that it is all invented from rumours matters not a jot, in the same way that Peter Shaffer’s 'Amadeus' builds a false but plausible biography from rumours of Salieri’s hand in the death of Mozart. It is a seed from which to germinate a story, albeit in the case of Ammonite, one that is hardly that original.What elevates this film way above banality is the masterful acting by Kate Winslet as Mary and Saoirse Ronan as Charlotte, working with a laconic script and an elastic pacing that allows intimacy to grow from the women’s initial resentment of each other in what almost seems like real time. There is much play made of hands and intricate manual tasks, whether it be Mary’s painstaking preparation of fossil specimens, her mother’s (Gemma Jones) ritual cleaning of the cheap ornaments that stand in for her dead children or Charlotte’s needlepoint and piano playing. And of course with two such fine actors, there is plenty said with eyes and twitches at the corner of mouths (the film is an hour old before Kate Winslet smiles for the first time).Arguably the least intimate and most expendable scenes are those that are explicitly sexual. They certainly take Saoirse Ronan into on-screen territory we have not seen from her previously. But they are brief, entirely in context and shot with a skill that makes them genuinely erotic without being exploitative.The film is shot almost entirely on location in Lyme Regis, lending it the authenticity which Francis Lee sought. Shots of the Cobb will be familiar from 'The French Lieutenant’s Woman' and 'Persuasion' and are used sparingly here, but more important are the beach scenes, the pounding sea and the perilous clay and limestone cliffs where regular landslides yield the best fossils. There is always dirt under Mary’s fingernails, even when she scrubs up to go to a music recital, and it is when Charlotte’s hitherto milk-white hands become soiled with coal dust that the physical link between them is sealed.All in all I found this a convincing and compelling film, made at a time when both women’s and men’s interest in the often-overlooked, often-distorted lives of other women has gained a great deal of traction. It’s not new ground but it is explored with insight and sensitivity and some extremely fine acting.

Fine

I waiting a long time to see the bluray. The story of course is hardly about fossils, and all about the slow development of some sort of a chemistry (which is also not that organic; it sort of suddenly becomes a lovestory) about the two ladies. The storyline is drab and abit short (I was expecting more of a fossil led storyline). Maybe Lyme Regis was a drab place then. At any rate KW’s acting was not inspirational (she is a very good actress) and her co star’s role was well acted and I missed any intensity in the relationship. All told quite a disappointment and the newspaper credits are, very strangely, way off! Spectacular etc etc it is absolutely not!

My favourite film of all time. Kate Winslet and Siirse Roman are awesome. The slow burn of their relationship is wonderful.

oh boy what brilliant acting from both women. girls you have to buy this dvd its so s e x y. havent seen the like for a long time.

It's not a titanic start by any means?. But the film itself was intriguing to say the least. Full of wonderful scenery and very olden days type buildings that you might find in Cornwall, picturesque. Then it got steamy ( Gave me a hot 🔥 flush). Kate, did not know you did things like that?.

Lyme Regis, fossils, Mary Anning. So much potential. But all of that is a sideshow to a plot that focuses on a budding lesbian relationship. Nothing wrong in mixing a little fiction with fact, unless that fiction becomes 90% of the story.

Bei dem Artikel ist nicht vermerkt, dass er in englischer Sprache ist.

Une très belle interprétation de Kate Winslet, un personnage brut, écorché, une femme née trop tôt dans un pays et un époque qui n’accepte pas l'homosexualité, c'est peu de le dire, même si on sent plus une auto censure qu'une pression extérieure sur les homosexuels dans ce film. Une femme murée en elle même.

Merci beaucoup,tres bien.

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