Ammonite
neonFollowing up his rather stunning 2017 debut feature God's Only Country, Francis Lee looked to once again find a meditation on true love found in the most unlikely of places with Ammonite. Set in 1840s England where a paleontologist named Mary (Kate Winslet) finds a connection with the young and moody Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan), who she helps draw out of her shell, the two form an intimate relationship. On paper, it seems like Ammonite has everything needed to be an impressive sophomore effort for the director but ultimately falls shockingly flat for a variety of reasons. The poetic love featured within God's Only Country is nowhere to be seen within Ammonite, which almost stands as unrecognisable in comparison.
The flaws within the film are felt from the very start of the feature. In the natural path of their lives, Mary and Charlotte are two individuals that would never naturally meet. Mary tends to separate herself from others, collecting fossils on the seaside, while Charlotte stays in bed most days with no real interest in engaging with the world or people around her. They are, in many ways, two sides of the same coin and the film has to craft a way to make these characters collide. This is done by Charlotte's husband (James McArdle) paying Mary to watch her and get her out of the house, but this setup equally makes little sense. The film does very little to justify why Mary would agree to this, as her and Charlotte's husband Roderick have basically no connection and she gets basically nothing from this relationship at first. It is forced and immediately is a sign to the lack of chemistry and poetry found within the screenplay of the film.
Where Ammonite is an undeniable success is in its atmosphere and tone, successfully capturing the cold and stormy seaside setting in a way that truly transports the audience to this world. It is in this sense that the film most successfully resembles God's Only Country, which also thrived in a similarly brisk environment, but the key point missing within Ammonite that was present within God's Only Country is the warmth of the relationship. Mary and Charlotte have an incredibly weak sense of chemistry that is consistently underwritten and awkward. Despite Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan both proving themselves in other projects as two of the most impressive actresses working today, in Ammonite each feels both lifeless and instantly forgettable. There is no sense of passion or chemistry between these two actresses that will captivate audiences or appeal to their deeper emotions. Love is one of the most powerful emotions of the cinematic realm because of its ability to speak to a deep and honest truth of the human experience. Sadly, the romance within Ammonite feels like an inauthentic shell of this emotion for the vast majority of its runtime.
The one area where the film does start to pick up is the ending. Though the closing act is far from as haunting or memorable as countless other films of the genre, it is easily the point in the film that evokes the most emotion. It remains rather unclear what exactly leads to this disappointing lack of emotion, though there are a few theories one can have. The film, at times, seems lost in its period piece identity – so worried about using the setting to enhance its themes of loneliness and disconnection with society due to both gender and sexual identity that the film loses focus on building the basics of its story. Whilst these themes don't necessarily feel disingenuous, they ultimately are lacking in nuance or real depth. There is nothing within Ammonite that stands out as impressive or unique specifically for the film.
Ammonite easily goes down as one of the most disappointing films of the year. Francis Lee came out of his feature directorial debut as one of the most exciting new voices within queer cinema and whilst it is impossible to take away the talent he has proven to have, Ammonite in no way captures the same magic. This is a bland and empty feature that feels like an ancient fossil void of any passion or substantial emotion. Every piece of the film fails to connect or feel worthwhile, making the feature impossible to truly recommend.
