A Review of Ammonite (2020) and Why Comparing it to Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) does it a Massive Disservice

This was written by Tishitha, one of our student interns. The opinions expressed herein do not reflect those of Civitas other than respect for the value of open dialogue.

There seems to be a renaissance happening for lesbian period pieces. Movies like Carol (2015), and of course the two being discussed today, Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) and Ammonite (2020), have sparked a mainstream interest in historical pieces showing tender interactions between women. While the diversity in these movies is questionable, and it is odd to see so many movies revolving around sapphic women only being set in the past, the lack of pure sexualization is appreciated. The women in these movies are looked upon with the female gaze, rarely objectified. 

Going back to topic at hand, the release of Ammonite last year was lackluster. Critics commented on the “forced” nature of the romance, asserting that watching the character’s relationship progress felt intrusive rather than intimate. However, none of this criticism was shown for Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Portrait and Ammonite are often compared due to their similarities. Both movies are set around the same time period, both involve the sea and small communities, both have bittersweet endings; however this does not mean the meanings of the two movies are similar. 

To better show why these movies should never be compared, I must provide the promised review of Ammonite, as well as a synopsis of both movies. 

Ammonite tells a fictional tale based on the real paleontologist Mary Anning that is set in the 1840s. Anning was a prolific paleontologist and fossil collector; the movie attempts to give another meaning to the brief period Charlotte Murchison spent with her as Anning’s apprentice of sorts. The movie begins by establishing Anning’s daily routine at her small shop in Lyme Regis. She spends her mornings on the beach searching for fossils and the rest of her day helping her ailing mother and tending to her fossils. One day, geologist Roderick Murchison visits Mary’s shop along with his wife, Charlotte, where he attempts to learn about Mary’s fossil collecting. His trip culminates in persuading Mary to take in Charlotte as an apprentice to help Charlotte escape her depressed state, an offer Mary accepts when payment is brought up. The rest of the movie shows the love, or rather attraction, building between the two until they eventually act on it. Unfortunately, Charlotte eventually has to return home to London. Mary, although she intended to abandon her and Charlotte’s relationship, ends up accepting Charlotte’s request a few weeks later for Mary to visit London. When she arrives at Charlotte’s house, Mary finds that Charlotte intended for Mary to move in with them. The two get into an argument over this, with Mary accusing Charlotte of not respecting her life. The film ends on this uncertain note. The final scene shows Mary and Charlotte gazing at each other through the glass case of Mary’s original ichthyosaurus fossil, which lies in the British Museum with no mention of her. 

This movie is truly remarkable, and I highly recommend it. The actor’s performances are incredible. Kate Winslet, who plays Mary, was given so few lines, yet her body language was able to convey complicated emotions and made the story ever so compelling. Winslet avoided every cliche her character could have fallen into and gave a stunning performance. Saoirse Ronan, who plays Charlotte, also gave a phenomenal performance. She portrayed her character’s initial eagerness and naivety beautifully. 

Portrait of a Lady on Fire follows a similar narrative as Ammonite. It is set at the end of the eighteenth century in France and follows Marianne, a painter, and Heloise, the young woman she was commissioned to paint. Heloise is to be married soon, but refuses to pose for a portrait, which is where Marianne is supposed to come in. Marianne acts as Heloise’s hired companion to paint her in secret. They routinely walk along the coastline as Marianne attempts to memorize Heloise’s features. Marianne finishes the portrait, but ends up destroying it when Heloise criticises it. Heloise agrees to pose for Marianne while her mother is away on the mainland. The movie then turns its focus to portraying life among the female-led community of the island as Heloise and Marianne’s relationship grows stronger. However, Heloise’s mother eventually returns and approves of the portrait. Marianne leaves and the movie flings us back to present day in Marianne’s art class. She reveals that she saw Heloise two more times in her life. The first was as a portrait at an art exhibition and the second at a concert in Milan. The movie ends as Heloise becomes overwhelmed with emotion listening to the orchestra play the Presto from Summer from Vivaldi’s Four Seasons, the music Marianne had played for her years ago. 

Now, both movies clearly contain similar motifs, however the true meaning of these films are fundamentally different. This difference also contributes to why Portrait always beats out Ammonite when the two are compared. While both films look like love stories, Ammonite isn’t. Ammonite was not meant to be a love story, in my opinion. Portrait of a Lady on Fire, however, was.

 Even without delving into the plot, a simple look at the styles of both movies shows their differences. Portrait is meant to be picturesque, with every shot being aesthetically pleasing. Its colors are bright and vibrant. Ammonite is distinctively unpolished. The camera seems to almost always be handheld and shaky. The colors in the film are dull grayish hues. Portrait is shot delicately, the story being shown in a graceful, soft manner. Ammonite is almost bitter in the way the story is told; it provokes a sense of detachment in the audience. Portrait tries to lure you in and makes sure its story leaves its mark, while Ammonite doesn’t. But, that seems to be the point. Ammonite seems so aloof and detached because the characters are not in love. They never experience the same gentle romance that Marianne and Heloise do. 

Mary and Charlotte simply experience attraction; they both seem desperate for a distraction rather than true love. We see this all come to a head during the final few scenes, where the two realize that they aren’t right for each other. Of course, the movie ends on an ambiguous note, but in my opinion Mary and Charlotte did not fit well together in terms of a long-term relationship. In fact, I would see this movie as more about finding your passion than finding true love. Mary, as we see throughout the entire film, places her work above everything else. And this pays off eventually. Mary Anning is regarded today as an unsung hero of fossil discovery. And in the end of the movie, Mary seems to realize how flawed the relationship she placed herself into was. She seems to realize that giving up her passion to live in a “gilded cage” in London isn’t worth it. 

Along with this, Ammonite almost seems to be tending to the male gaze. The film almost entirely revolves around men’s decisions. Mary and Charlotte were brought together by loneliness and avoidance, which came from Charlotte rejecting her husband and Mary rejecting the advances of the town doctor. The intimate scenes in the movie revolved around sex more than romance. In contrast, Portrait of a Lady on Fire had virtually no men shown on screen. The characters were all female for a majority of the movie and were thus motivated by their own desires. There was a bigger focus on love and romance than sex. This further shows how Ammonite wasn’t intended to be the next Portrait of a Lady on Fire; it wasn’t intended to cause a breakthrough in LGBTQ cinema. It wasn’t meant to showcase a lesbian relationship, but rather the lack of one.

While these might sound like reasons as to why Ammonite isn’t a good movie, the film still shines. The movie just doesn’t deserve to be compared to Portrait, considering the two were trying to achieve completely different outcomes. Overall, I would highly recommend everyone watch both Ammonite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. They both showcase wonderful performances by the actors and beautiful cinematography. Just remember that they aren’t sending the same message.