'Ammonite': A Disappointment

What can I say, I’m a little disappointed.

嗯怎么说呢，有点失望的。

I started looking forward to Ammonite a long time ago, back when it was first announced: Kate Winslet, Saoirse Ronan, and they’re gay? Sold. But then after actually watching the film, I have to say, it was kind of a big disappointment.

老早之前就很期待《菊石》了：别的不说，既有Kate Winslet还有西尔莎·罗南，而且两个人还是演情人？这电影我是看定了。结果看完这个电影我还真有点失望的。

First of all, the thing that annoyed me the most throughout the entire film, was : do y’all not have mouths or something? Like honestly, there is basically no dialogue in the first 30 minutes of this film. Even if the characters aren’t talkative or whatever, this is still a film, and you still have to keep your audience’s attention! And these weird, longing stares. I mean, honestly, why can’t people come up with better ways for lesbians to want one and other? Why does it have to just be one long, awkward staring contest after another?

首先，弄得我最无语的就是：你们俩人是没有嘴吗？？咱就是说电影前30分钟的样子是几乎完全没有对话的哇我真的不理解了。就算你的角色再怎么不愿意说话，作为电影多多少少还是要照顾到观众的观感吧？还有这奇奇怪怪的注视倒是挺多的。就是说为什么不能通过别的手法表达出Mary对于Charlotte的那点爱慕？为什么一直是尴尬的我看你你看我？？

And the plot. Jesus, the plot. This love affair literally hits you out of nowhere. I mean, I don’t know if it’s because the of chemistry between the leads was less intense that I had hoped it would be, but the way the two just suddenly start having sex is crazy to me. And why is there literally no scene where Charlotte expresses some sort of guilt for betraying her husband? If the audience was told at the beginning that she didn’t love her husband then fine, I get it, but we’re not shown anything that would suggest she hates him enough to cheat on him and not feel any guilt. In the film, Charlotte is even shown to want to have sex with him in the beginning, although he pushes her off, and it’s obvious that he loves her from the way he talks about the way she used to be. So why is there absolutely no guilt on Charlotte’s part at all?

然后咱就是说这个剧情。这恋爱真的好莫名其妙啊，我也不知道是不是因为两个人的cp感没有我想象的强，但是这俩突然好上真的有点奇怪。而且为什么电影完全没有对于Charlotte背叛自己丈夫的刻画？如果影片一开始给观众看到说她不喜欢自己的丈夫那可能后面跟Mary好上也不会有多大心里负担，但是光看现在的剧情，Charlotte和自己丈夫并没有关系不好。甚至说他很爱她，而她虽然不喜欢被抛弃不被理解但是她在他走前还想跟他再搞一个宝宝呢？？所以为什么会一点愧疚纠结都没有呢？

I have nothing to say about the acting, because let’s be honest Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan know how to act, but their abilities were absolutely wasted on just a less-than-impressive script and character development. And the ending! The ending is so hasty I just want to know: did the director see Carol, go, “Hm, I want an open ending”, but then realize that they were running too long and so just cut everything from the finale? This ending doesn’t feel like it implies an ending to their story or to the snapshot of their lives that we got; it feels like an ending that the creators of the film tacked on because they didn’t know how to end.

演技两位我都没什么好说的，就是可惜这俩好演员了，这个剧情和人物是真的有点拉垮的。更别提这部电影的结局是我见过最草率的结局之一了，如果真的想玩开放性结局咱能不能也多多少少有点解释的？现在这个结局感觉就是导演不知道咋结束了随随便便来个结局。

In conclusion: really looked forward to this, but it’s no wonder this film didn’t make that big of a splash in the LGBTQ community. At this point, I’m just going to set my hopes on Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I just feel bad for the wasted cast and opportunity.

总结一句就是原本很期待这部，可看完只能说难怪这部没有在国外LGBTQ群体里面掀起多大的浪。我觉得我现在还是好好期待有时间看一下《燃烧女子的肖像》吧，可惜这个好卡司了。

Happy Sunday!!

周日快乐！！