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| Scene from Ammonite (2020) |
For most of her life, Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) has lived a quiet life, focused on her work. As a paleontologist, she spends her life focused on the way that the world was, admiring the skeletal structures of animals imprinted onto rocks. It's a lonely world and one that not too many understand. Through Winslet's subdued performance, she captures the struggles of self-expression, unable to truly be happy around anyone. That is until she is forced to take care of Charlotte Murchinson (Saoirse Ronan) and finds passion starting to form. For the first time in her life, somebody cares about her, bonding over science and discovering deeply personal secrets that allow her to become more transparent.
Like most love stories, Ammonite has its fair share of goofiness that's hard to understand from the outside world. As someone who has been repressed, Mary reflects love as it blossoms, evolving from an idea into an emotion, becoming this sweet story of love. Ronan has rarely been more vulnerable as an actress, managing to convey a strong emotional range that shows how these two complement each other. Their journey may be quaint and the endless minutes of watching them study paleontology may seem strange, but it's ultimately endearing. The story may be much too quaint at times to be a masterpiece, but it's got enough going for it that the audience buys into every smile, every sacrifice they make for each other. It's love as something formative, and the joy in these moments is the infectious heart of the film, where loneliness stops being the unbearable reality and Mary (and the audience) find something greater waiting ahead.
