The BIG ARTS Monday Night Movie for November 1, is “Ammonite”, a film about acclaimed paleontologist Mary Anning, who sells fossils to tourists to support her ailing mother. Anning is portrayed by Kate Winslet and her mother Molly by Gemma Jones. Everything changes for Mary when a fellow paleontologist comes into her shop and eventually asks Mary to care for his wife Charlotte, played by Saoirse Ronan who he says is suffering from “melancholia.”
Charlotte adjusts to life with Mary. A scene in which Charlotte helps carry a giant rock that Mary couldn’t have done on her own is formative in that this is a movie about connections and how some aspects of life take four hands instead of two. The women become closer until their relationship turns physical. There is one brief sexual scene.
Great partners teach us new things about ourselves, and “Ammonite” really gets that element of human relationships without overplaying it. The final scene might frustrate some people, but it will also lead to a discussion about where these characters went from here. Both Ronan and Winslet give high caliber performances. Director Francis Lee tells a story of connections, something we all seek, even after our lives seem to have made it impossible to find.
The film runs 120 minutes and will be shown at 7 p.m. in Christensen Performance Hall. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online or at the box office. Visitors are asked to wear masks and BIG ARTS is continuing its safety sanitation methods which can be viewed on their website.
BIG ARTS is located at 900 Dunlop Road on Sanibel. For tickets, call 395-0900 or visit www.bigarts.org.
ABOUT BIG ARTS
BIG ARTS, established in 1979, is a nonprofit organization devoted to providing quality artistic, cultural, and educational experiences to Sanibel and Captiva residents and visitors. Visit www.bigarts.org to learn more about BIG ARTS. Stay tuned for our 2022 season, and don’t forget to visit us on Facebook!
