Mary Anning was pioneering 19th century palaeontologist. Largely because of her gender, and partly because of her religion, she was shunned by the establishment. She lived in poverty most of her life, collecting fossils from the beach in Lyme Regis to sell in her mother’s shop.
Ammonite tells the story of Mary’s life in the 1840s. Her friendship with geologist Charlotte Murchison is re-imagined as a romantic relationship by writer Francis Lee, who also directs.
The story is pretty thin stuff considering Mary’s fascinating life. However, what makes this worth watching are the performances. Kate Winslet is excellent as Mary and the high quality supporting cast includes Gemma Jones, Claire Rushbrook, James McCardle and Fiona Shaw. The latter shares two lovely scenes with Winslet that are all about what not is said. But it is the remarkable Saorise Ronan who lights up the screen as Charlotte. She portrays her characters mixture of intelligence, vulnerability and playfulness superbly.
Despite the great acting, the story is a little dull and it really only gathers momentum when Mary and Charlotte get together. If you want to see a potentially dry tale told with more zest, try The Dig on Netflix.
Rating: 6.5 out of 10