Ammonite Movie Storyline. In 1840s England, acclaimed but overlooked fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. With the days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now searches for common fossils to sell to tourists to support herself and her ailing mother.
When a wealthy visitor entrusts Mary with the care of his wife Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), she cannot afford to turn his offer down. Proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, Mary initially clashes with her unwelcome guest, but despite the distance between their social class and personalities, an intense bond begins to develop, compelling the two women to determine the true nature of their relationship.
Ammonite is a 2020 romantic drama film written and directed by Francis Lee. The film is loosely inspired by the life of British palaeontologist Mary Anning, played by Kate Winslet. The film centres on a speculative romantic relationship between Anning and Charlotte Murchison, played by Saoirse Ronan. Gemma Jones, James McArdle, Alec Secăreanu, and Fiona Shaw also star.
The film had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on 11 September 2020. It was released in Australia on 14 January 2021 by Transmission Films and in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2021 by Lionsgate Films. In its opening weekend the film grossed $87,552 from 280 theatres.
Mary Anning biopic director defends film’s lesbian romance storyline
Kate Winslet picture about renowned fossil hunter had been criticised by relatives for ‘unconfirmed’ portrait of her sexuality.
The director of a new biopic about the celebrated fossil hunter Mary Anning has defended his film after criticism of its lesbian romance storyline.
Ammonite, which stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, recently began filming in Lyme Regis, the coastal town in Dorset where Anning lived in the early 19th century. Anning never married and is not known to have had any direct descendants, but a report in the Telegraph suggested her distant relatives were at odds over the film’s central relationship, a romance between Anning and Charlotte Murchison.
Barbara Anning was quoted as saying: “I do not believe there is any evidence to back up portraying her as a gay woman.” She added: “Do the film-makers have to resort to using unconfirmed aspects to somebody’s sexuality to make an already remarkable story sensational? This adds nothing to her story.” Another relative, Lorraine Anning, took a different view: “To be honest, it doesn’t matter; as long as it’s well presented and tastefully done and in the spirit of Mary Anning, then I think it’s brilliant.”
The film’s writer and director, Francis Lee, previously responsible for indie hit God’s Own Country, responded with a series of posts on social media. He wrote: “After seeing queer history be routinely ‘straightened’ throughout culture, and given a historical figure where there is no evidence whatsoever of a heterosexual relationship, is it not permissible to view that person within another context?” He added: “Would these newspaper writers have felt the need to whip up uninformed quotes from self-proclaimed experts if the character’s sexuality had been assumed to be heterosexual?”
Ammonite (2020)
Directed by: Francis Lee
Starring: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, Gemma Jones, James McArdle, Alec Secăreanu, Fiona Shaw, Victoria Elliott, Beatrice Curnew, Susie Baxter, Robert Purdy, Gethin Alderman
Screenplay by: Francis Lee
Production Design by: Sarah Finlay
Cinematography by: Stéphane Fontaine
Film Editing by: Chris Wyatt
Costume Design by: Michael O’Connor
Set Decoration by: Sophie Hervieu
Art Direction by: Grant Bailey, Guy Bevitt, Richard Field
Music by: Volker Bertelmann, Dustin O’Halloran
MPAA Rating: R for graphic sexuality, some graphic nudity and brief language.
Distributed by: Lionsgate Films (United Kingdom), Transmission Films (Australia)
Release Date: September 11, 2020 (TIFF), January 14, 2021 (Australia), March 26, 2021 (United Kingdom)
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