Casey’s Reviews
Ammonite (2020), Queering History
Review of the 2020 film starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan
The last thing I expected in a Sapphic romance film was full-frontal male nudity within the first five minutes, but that’s what you get when you watch Ammonite (2020). While this movie was visually stunning, emotionally complex, and well-acted from the star-studded cast, there are several ways that it missed the mark.
Ammonite is about a real woman, British palaeontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet), but is an otherwise fictional story set in the 1840s. The plot speculates about the nature of Mary’s relationship with a boarder, Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), who is dropped off by her husband in the hopes that “taking the sea air” will cure her of melancholia (depression) after the loss of their baby. The plot of the film follows Charlotte’s recovery and sexual awakening while under Mary’s care.
Mary, a fossil-hunter living in poverty with her ailing mother, reluctantly takes in Charlotte after she falls ill with hypothermia. The two form a connection during walks to the seaside searching for ammonite and other fossils, and begin sharing a bed — eventually discovering their mutual attraction and having passionate, on-screen sex.
