In 1840s England, palaeontologist Mary Anning and a young woman sent by her husband to convalesce by the sea develop an intense relationship. Despite the chasm between their social spheres and personalities, Mary and Charlotte discover they can each offer what the other has been searching for: the realisation that they are not alone. It is the beginning of a passionate and all-consuming love affair that will defy all social bounds and alter the course of both lives irrevocably.
Acting
Winslet and Ronan communicate entire novels through glances and gloved hands.
Cinematography
Grey seascapes that make misery look almost aspirational.
Direction
Francis Lee's tactile, unsentimental approach to period romance.
Director
Francis Lee
Kate Winslet
Mary Anning
Saoirse Ronan
Charlotte Murchison
Gemma Jones
Molly Anning
James McArdle
Roderick Murchison
Alec Secăreanu
Dr. Lieberson
Fiona Shaw
Elizabeth Philpot
Sarah White
Museum Cleaning Woman
Liam Thomas
Museum Workman
Sam Parks
Curator
Claire Rushbrook
Eleanor Butters
Nick Pearse
Three Cups' Waiter
Victoria Elliott
Three Cups' Maid
Beatrice Curnew
Party Guest
Susie Baxter
Party Guest
Gethin Alderman
Party Guest
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Mary Anning was a real pioneering paleontologist whose discoveries were systematically credited to male scientists; the film fictionalizes the romance with Charlotte Murchison, who was a real geologist and Anning's actual friend.
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