Watch: Trailer for Lesbian Drama 'Ammonite' Starring Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan Drops
by Kilian Melloy
EDGE Staff Reporter
The trailer for the upcoming Saoirse Ronan/Kate Winslet-starring historical lesbian drama "Ammonite" has dropped, IndieWire reports.
The film, which finished lensing just before the CIVD-19 shutdown that delayed numerous cinematic productions, is the followup feature from "God's Own Country" director Francis Lee. An official selection to several film festivals, including Cannes and Telluride (both of which were canceled due to the pandemic), "Ammonite" is scheduled to be part of the Toronto International Film Festival, which is expected to take place next month.
As previously reported at EDGE, the film is a dramatization of two women in love in the mid-19th century. Winslet plays Mary Anning, a historical figure who was a pioneering paleontologist. In the film, Anning "befriends a London woman (Ronan) to whom she must unexpectedly play nursemaid," IndieWire reports.
Lee told Entertainment Weekly in June that the story was not intended to be biographical. "It's just inspired by her life," Lee said. "I was incredibly lucky to work with Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, and they play two women who develop an intense and intimate relationship."
The film is already drawing plaudits, sparking Oscar talk and garnering praise for Winslet.
But the film's casting choices have also sparked controversy, with The New York Independent wondering why a film about two lesbians in 19th century England were both played by straight actors.
"Hello? What about Kristen Stewart?" writer Keith Girard asked. "Stewart has openly announced she's sexually fluid but has been dating women exclusively. She's also started playing mostly lesbian roles."
The article went on to say that "Dozens of other actresses have also come out as gay and many are being excluded from romantic lead heterosexual roles because of marketing problems based on their sexuality."
Still, IndieWire reported, the film is keenly anticipated. IndieWire compared "Ammonite" to last year's critically adored lesbian drama "Portrait of a Lady on Fire," and also drew comparisons to Lee's 2017 film "God's Own Country," in which a young farmer in rural England played by Josh O'Connor pursues a gay romance with a Romanian migrant worker played by Alec Secareanu.
Secareanu works with Lee once more in "Ammonite," IndieWire noted.
Watch the trailer for "Ammonite" below.
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Assistant Arts Editor. He also reviews theater for WBUR. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
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