We watched Ammonite last night, hoping to find out more about Mary Anning and her historically important discoveries of fossils on the beaches of Lyme Regis in the early nineteenth century and her rejection by the geological establishment in London. But, no, we had not read the blurb carefully enough. It is a very beautifully filmed, but 100% fictitious, account of a passionate affair she purportedly had with the smart young wife of an amateur paleontologist, who turns out from the reviews to have been a serious paleontologist herself. Great clothes, said to be historical, but possibly supplied by Old Town.
| Charles | Saumarez | Smith | 
We watched this too and very much enjoyed the costumes. I thought the prints looked like something by Angie Lewin from St Jude’s. There is an interesting article in Variety magazine about how the costume designer Michael O’Connor came up with the designs in conjunction with the film’s director. Lots of sea colours, prints – which in fact came from the Smithsonian – which feature coral. The Kate Winslet/Mary Anning jacket is an old naval jacket with the tails cut off and the knitwear is based on fishermen’s jumpers. The costume design has been nominated for a BAFTA, Michael O’Connor having previously won an Oscar for his designs for the Duchess.
Yes, looks beautiful, content less successful in retrospect as many reviews have pointed out. Charles