Yes No Maybe So: Ammonite
Tuesday, August 25, 2020 at 1:00PM by Nathaniel R
Okay. NOW it feels like prestige film season is about to begin... even though it isn't, not really, at least not in its traditional way. Behold the lovely poster for Ammonite, pairing two star profiles in ethereal fashion, The trailer is even more thrilling. Let's break down the Yes No and Maybe So of it all after the jump...
The synopsis goes like so:
In 1800s England, acclaimed but unrecognized 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.
YES
• Kate, Saoirse, and Francis Lee have all earned our devotion previously. We wouldn't miss it.
• We've been longing for Kate Winslet to knock another leading role out of the park. Will this be the one? Can't wait to find out. It could be thrilling to watch this new grumpy jaded vibe be replaced by her younger screen self's lust for life. Or at least that's what could happen (in our imagination).
• It will be interesting to watch Saoirse play a more subdued "melancholy" character, given that her own screen persona is not so dissimilar to Kate's original screen persona -- all youthful irrepressible fire and emotional purity. Perhaps this is why we love the dual face poster so much?
• The sex scenes in God's Own Country, also by Lee, were very hot... so Lee knows how to make same sex desire riveting onscreen.
• We don't get much screentime with the supporting cast here but it's filled with GREAT actors: Fiona Shaw, Gemma Jones, James McArdle, and Alec Secareanu (from God's Own Country). Also that little dude who was so utterly perfect in The Witch, Harvey Scrimshaw, appears as "Callow Youth"
• Some terrific craftspeople to consider: Stéphane Fontaine (A Prophet, Rust and Bone) for Cinematography, Sarah Finlay (Disobedience, Weekend) for Production Design, Michael O'Connor (Jane Eyre, The Duchess) for Costumes, Volker Bertelmann and Dustin O'Halloran (Lion, The Old Guard) on Score.
NO
• It's going to be SO annoying when everyone agrees that Saoirse Ronan is "supporting" in this movie though it's clearly a two lead film, as 97% of romantic dramas are.
• Our only other "No" is the agony that we aren't watching this TODAY.
MAYBE SO
• This doesn't really have anything to do with the movie but the cultural discourse which will surround it. The press (and movielovers) will obviously compare this to the very recent Portrait of a Lady on Fire due to the period setting, beautiful shoreline walks, and the lesbian romance. Given the absolute fetishisizing devotion the former has inspired, we worry that knives will be out for this one. A similar thing happened with Francis Lee's previous picture, God's Own Country, which was endlessly compared to Brokeback Mountain (in ways that were silly, both pro and con) simply because it was an agriculture-backdrop to a gay male romance. It shouldn't be a competition! There aren't enough LGBT screen romances so we say 'the more the merrier.'
• Speaking of God's Own Country. The storyline here looks vaguely similar given that it's an LGBT romantic drama about a gruff loner who falls for their new, more emotionally open coworker (of sorts) even though they don't really want them around at first. But if Scorsese can make endless movies about gangsters, Tarantino can make multiple alternate history movies mixing film nostalgia with violent humor, Almodóvar can keep making twisty movies about filmmakers reflecting on their past, and Coppola can keep making movies about lonely isolated rich girls, [insert every director with very obviously repeating themes here], we hope Francis Lee gets to keep delivering odd couple LGBT romances! It's a niche but an underserved one.
So are you a Yes, yes or a yes? Hee.
Neon will probably release Ammonite directly to Hulu, the current date appears to be November 13th (though this year it's unwise to ink in any release date), given that theatrical distribution is still in dissarray. Francis Lee alluded to a streaming debut in an understandably disappointed tweet that was soon deleted about a month ago. Artful filmmakers cherish what the big screen does for their beautiful compositions and cinematography and for audience engagement with the storytelling and the like. This new world of distribution is still an adjustment for all.
Regardless, given the very positive buzz around the project, we can surely expect it to compete, at least in some way, for Oscar nominations in the winter.
Reader Comments (50)
Nobody believes Ronan is an actual supporting role just that she'll be placed there this award season.
Love the poster and the music. Wouldn’t it be interesting to see Meryl Streep as Kate’s and Saoirse’s mother in another movie?
/3rtful -- alas, if this were only the case. But plenty of people defend egregious placements each year through twisted logic about the "story" of the movie. As if movies can only have one lead.
Can't wait to see what type of sweater Alec is sporting this time.
Lez be honest - this looks beautiful. ;)
I feel like in this year they (and perhaps any year with these two actress’) could both secure Actress nominations but then they’d split votes for a win and I think Kate has a real shot at her second here.
I also think Saoirse will want to win her own Actress, rather than Supporting.
The only thing I don't like about this is that Mary Anning would have been a great historical figure to use in a"Doctor Who" episode and now this likely preempts that possibility for at least another 5 years.
Isn't this just "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" again?
I want Ronan to win in leading, but as I’ve mentioned before, Close, Adams and herself are all members of the Inevitables (Ala Nick Davis and his pets, perennials, etc.)
Nathaniel, are you TIFFing virtually this year?
Ronan had four nominations already. It would be easy to create and spread a narrative that she is due for a win. Based on the pickings so far she would probably win supporting in a runaway even though she is lead. I'm not sure which movies will even be eligible or released this year. Actress already seems like a crowded field.
The poster obviously took it's lead from Marriage Story
Having been around in 94 and old enough to see Heavenly Creatures at he cinema and seeing Kate burst onto the screens and then growning into my adult years and seeing what her career became is a joy,Ronan is obviously Kate's heir apparent,so count me as excited,I liked the delivery of "What about my life" by Kate in the trailer.
Isn't it crazy that even with less movies than usual, Lead Actress feels already stacked? btw, it's really weird to be this close to the prestige film season and not have your predictions for best actress... that's the gag of this season. ;(
Oh yes, I so want to see this.
Poster is so beautiful I fear to watch the trailer and be disappointed.
Fiona Shaw is definitely a yes to me. I hope she has a character relevant enough to at least appear here at the Film Bitch Awards.
God’s Own Country was more compared to CMBYN that season, which was even more ludicrous of a comparison as the stories have almost nothing in common.
I just wanna say, Rachel Weisz was said to take the roles Winslet wouldn’t or couldn’t in the comments section of the 2005 Smackdown, but Weisz essentially took on two queer roles in 2018 without Winslet stepping up first SO WHO’S LEADING WHO NOW, hehehehe.
;)
Love the poster.
Mark my words - this will be the first film since Thelma & Louise to score dual Best Actress nominations!
If less movies are being released this year, then why shouldn't they just go for it? Both these actresses are A-List stars, too.
It has to be a maybe, but it does look good and I'm excited by what Saoirse Ronan is doing with this performance. Interestingly enough other bloggers have already started their predictions and both Winslet and Ronan are in their top 5, predictably in Lead and supporting respectively.
Aaron -- that's what we think each time but they never ever do.
Exactly. If Brad Pitt and Julia Roberts were totally fine with category fraud, I don't see Saoirse fighting the good fight.
Film Twitter makes me abhor certain movies so I'm muting Ammonite.
Fiona Shaw and Frances de la Tour! The gay gods are smiling today
Yes. Yes. Yes.
Even in a year when Close could be a supporting actress contender, I want to see this film and I want to see it do well in awards race.
Francis Lee is such a special voice.
Am I the only one who's bothered by the age difference between Winslet and Ronan?
Where were you when Call Me by Your Name happened?
i can't wait for the french & saunders parody ["don't get funny"]
The stark age gap between the two is weird.
Francis Lee has quickly become one of my favorite filmmakers. So excited to see where goes from here. Kate appears to be giving an extremely atypical performance here and the same goes for Saoirse so I’m a “yes” all the way!
@Conner. Hopefully there aren't too many of you. Sadly, there might be. For people to cluck their disapproval at ANY sexual relationship between two consenting adults is a betrayal of the gay revolution as it emerged post-Stonewall. And yet, sadly, a lot of supposedly gay-friendly or even queer people have fallen prey to the latest Sex Panic. They wrongly assume that young people, who are by any reasonable definition adults, don't have agency and can't make decisions about their own sex lives. Thinking a 26 year old (Ronan's age) shouldn't be in a relationship with a 45 year old (Winslet's age) is as wrongheaded, in my opinion, as thinking a white person shouldn't date a Black person.
A bit off that Ronan’s character in real life was meant to be 11 years older than Winslet’s?
I have no problem with the age difference (and all of you who do - get over yourselves) but it would have been nice to see the real life age differences reflected.
M
JW -- i applied so hopefully.
Dan -- agreed 100%. people have gotten so weirdly conservative and sex-negative in the past few years when it comes to relationships. As long as both parties are adults and consenting, it's no one's business but theirs. To each their own. Love, whatever form it takes whether that's interracial, intergenerational, same sex, open, monogamous, trans/cis, trans/trans, polyamourous, hetero, should be celebrated as long as its between consenting adults. If we're just going to judge and reject anything that's slightly outside the norm -- What were the sexual revolution and the gay revolution and various civil rights efforts for?
Manny - hehe. funny. Now when can we get some queer women in queer roles?
There's no way I'm anything but an absolute YES.
I know we cant like Woody Allen's movies anymore but Kate was terrific in Wonder Wheel. Let us not forget.
Winslet seems to give the more interesting/layered performance based on the trailer.
Overall the austere tone of this is not something the Academy likes to give its statuettes to often.
ONE of the great posts of the year, Nathaniel. Bright, political and incisive text! On the other hand, I understand what you say about seeing Winslet shine in a leadership role. But I'm one of the guys who thinks she's great at Wonder Whell. I believe that many external issues have affected the evaluations of his performance in this film.
I agree with Yokobama and Owen. Had it come out a few years earlier, Winslet would have nabbed at least a nomination for WONDER WHEEL. It's actually one of Allen's strongest films.
Age gap relationships can be tricky. In this case I don’t mind so much but when you see a 65 year old man with a 21 year old girl... it just makes me uncomfortable. I guess it’s a case by case thing. Even for me I remember being a young man in my early 20s and getting into toxic relationships with much older men. It’s complicated!
You can totally fuck a twink but Roman and Woody are rapists. Got it?
Please tell me that’s a troll. I would hope Nathaniel would never say something that ignorant. Rape and ‘fuck’ are not the same. And in those cases the girls were underage.
Roman - rapist!
Céline Sciamma - eat all the underage pussy you want!
Most of the people who have seen "Wonder Wheel" understand that Kate Winslet's performance would have won her a second Best Actress Oscar pre 2015.
Agreed re Kate in Wonder Wheel. She was magnificent.
Just from the trailer, I don't get any chemistry for these two. They are both very cerebral actors.
@Conner, A 21 year old is an adult and should be treated like one: as a person with all the rights, all the responsibilities. It's interesting that you made the young person in your analogy female to double up on the perceived power imbalance of the situation. That's at the heart of this issue. People think a young person generally has less power in the relationship than the older person. But that’s also said of women in relation to men or people of color in relation to white people. So do we also act suspicious of heterosexuality and intergenerational relationships? It’s also just really not true in and of itself (that the younger person is relatively powerless) as long as the younger one is over 18. Of course, all relationships have power differentials, with one person having more power in some ways than the other. For instance, the older person might have more money. On the other hand, the younger person, in a culture that values youth, is more likely to quickly find another suitor if her or she breaks up with the older person they’ve been involved with.
I’ll put my cards on the table: I’m in my 50s in a relationship with a guy 10 years younger than me. In some ways I might actually have access to more power, but in other ways he does. On the other hand, when I was 20, I dated a guy who was 47. Same thing: In some ways he had more power, in others I did. It was a fun relationship that ended amicably. The notion of the creepy older person preying on the vulnerable younger one is largely a moralistic cliché. There are older people who take advantage of the vulnerable young, but there are also cases of younger people seducing vulnerable older people, shaking them down for expensive gifts and trips and then moving on after a few years.
We give people over 18 the most sacred right our society has: the right to vote. We give them the responsibility of defending our country with automatic weapons in tanks overseas. If an 18-year-old screws up, they suffer the full weight of the law in the adult court system. Surely, they can take care of themselves as well as anyone, generally speaking. Frankly, I know some people in their 40s and 50s who are pretty helpless, too. What’s really scarry are these people who claim to be card carrying progressives because they went to a same sex wedding once and watch GRACE AND FRANKIE, but they become scandalized and judgmental when they see people in an intergenerational, intercultural, or interracial relationship. They look down on their friends who have causal sex or non-monogamous or polyamorous relationships, maybe not treating them as well—“let’s not invite them on our vacation. They’ll be out scouring the bars for pickups.” It’s really wrong. I’m sorry you had a toxic relationship when you were younger, but you probably wouldn’t say “I had a toxic same sex relationship, so now gay people make me uncomfortable.” Sorry, I teach Queer Theory and this is a real issue for me. Peace.
I think you over oversimplify it and make it seem if someone disagrees with you they're automatically a prude or prejudice. I honestly think it's complicated and I have mixed feelings about it myself. Are there no in-between feelings? In some places, yes, the law says you're an adult by 18 but that's still a baby to me. Looking back at myself at 18, I didn't know anything. I thought I did but I didn't. I would say the same for myself at 20. 25 too. And now I work with plenty of younger people, and I love them dearly, but speaking to people in their early twenties, oh my god, they're all still kids. And that's not a bad thing, we all have growing and growing up to do in our own ways. But I think when sex and emotions are involved things become complicated and tricky. I can only speak for myself and the things I have experienced personally or witnessed. I'm not a teacher or a psychologist and wouldn't be able to articulate myself as well as you, this is just my own personal feelings. I see no problem with age gap relationships at all. It's silly to think that just because someone is the same age as you they're automatically a more suited match. I do however feel uneasy about seeing people in their early twenties (or as you suggest: 18) dating MUCH older people, male or female. Just from my own experiences, the power dynamic is way off, people are impressionable and people get taken advantage of. Again this is just what I have seen or witnessed myself personally, on multiple occasions. Technically everyone is an adult and it's really none of my business. And not every person or couple is the same. I don't want to make a blanket statement for everyone or every couple. Perhaps there lots of 60 year olds in relationships with 20 year olds that have perfectly healthy, successful and intellectually stimulating relationships. I haven't seen it but I guess its possible. And I don't mean that in a flippant way. I can only speak to own life and it's just a queasy feeling I get. I have one coworker who is 21, she could pass for 16 she looks so young, and she gets hit on constantly by much older men, some I believe are in their 70s. It makes me feel sick and scared for her. Like you said, she's an adult, she can make her own decisions and obviously I'm not her keeper, but I can't help feeling upset about seeing this young girl with a 70 year old man. I guess I'm just an old fashioned prude.
@Owen. I "wouldn't be able to articulate myself as well as you..." You actually communicate very well, my friend. Your points are well taken. Peace.
If this will get Ronan her first Oscar (start with Supporting like Streep), I will definitely support it.
I actually don't like the poster. Looks like a bit of a lazy/rushed version of much better posters. It's not the DEAD AGAIN poster, I don't think it's worth getting excited about.
The film, however, I just cannot wait for and I don't look forward to not being able to see it in theatres (although it's scheduled for February here so I hope we'll be back in theatres by then).
Kate should have had a nomination for "Wonder Wheel." And who said we can not love Woody Allen movies anymore? i can't wait to buy my copy of ":Rainy Day in New York," which finally will get its US DVD release in November. Funny how Amazon dropped the film when it was ready to debut in theaters, but now are conveniently taking preorders for the DVD release....