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TELL IT TO THE BEES
Director: Annabel Jankel Cast: Holliday Grainger, Anna Paquin, Gregor Selkirk, Kate Dickie, Emun Elliott, Lauren Lyle MPAA
Rating: Running Time: 1:46 Release Date: 5/3/19 (limited) |
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Review by Mark Dujsik | May 2, 2019 The conclusion of Tell It to the Bees simply doesn't align with its characters, the approach of the storytelling, or even the lesson we're supposed to take from this tale. It doesn't single-handedly ruin the movie, which has some earlier issues regarding perspective and method. Even so, one can't help but feel that these characters deserve and, based on what the movie tries to reveal about changes within them and the world, have earned better than the conclusion they receive. Adapted from Fiona Shaw's novel by screenwriters Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth, this is a story of forbidden love between two women in a small British town during the 1950s. The eventual lovers are Lydia (Holliday Grainger), a mill worker and the mother of 10-year-old Charlie (Gregor Selkirk), and Jean (Anna Paquin), a doctor who once lived in this town and has returned to take over her late father's practice. Lydia technically is still married to Charlie's father Robert (Emun Elliott), but after the war, he abandoned his family. When she loses her job, Lydia moves in with Jean to be her housekeeper. The rumors about Jean have been going around since was a child, and once they become a couple, they have to hide it from judgmental people like Lydia's sister-in-law Pam (Kate Dickie). Strangely, though, the Ashworths and director Annabel Jankel frame this as Charlie's story, as he learns that there's a difference between secrets and lies, while also discovering the joys of beekeeping from Jean. Charlie's relationship with those bees rides along the edge of a form of magical realism (They follow his commands and even come to the rescue during a climactic moment), which often feels at odds with the story's darker elements—from the oppressive nature of the town's gossip to one scene in which a side character is forced to terminate a pregnancy. The romance itself, though, is involving, since we have a good understanding of Lydia and Jean as wounded people who simply decide that they're going to allow themselves some happiness. It's a difficult but worthwhile road, and Tell It to the Bees is as honest about the pleasure and passion of their love as it is about the external troubles. The ending, especially following some major transformations for the characters and the town, doesn't follow the story's logical and emotional progression. Copyright © 2019 by Mark Dujsik. All rights reserved. |
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