It’s been a weird and wild year for Neon, to say the very least. They began the year with the highest of highs: Parasite won Best Picture, Portrait of a Lady on Fire was a hit on the indie circuit, their record-breaking acquisition of Palm Springs at Sundance made headlines, and it seemed the future was super bright. But then the pandemic hit, and a lot of their biggest releases — Spaceship Earth, Shirley, even Palm Springs — got pushed to streaming only. But Neon’s got one hell of a bullet left in the chamber: Francis Lee’s Ammonite, a period romance starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan. The distributor dropped the first trailer for the film earlier on Tuesday, and good lord, it looks great. Best Supporting Actress is on lockdown, folks, and the only real issue here is who exactly will be the person given the nod in that particular category.
Take a look:
Here’s a synopsis:
“In 1800s England, acclaimed but unrecognized fossil hunter Mary Anning (Kate Winslet) works alone on the rugged Southern coastline. With the days of her famed discoveries behind her, she now searches for common fossils to sell to tourists to support herself and her ailing mother. When a wealthy visitor entrusts Mary with the care of his wife Charlotte Murchison (Saoirse Ronan), she cannot afford to turn his offer down. Proud and relentlessly passionate about her work, Mary initially clashes with her unwelcome guest, but despite the distance between their social class and personalities, an intense bond begins to develop, compelling the two women to determine the true nature of their relationship.“
Ammonite hits theaters on November 13. It’s going to be a super weird year for Oscar Gambling anyway, but this makes things even more interesting. We’re sure the Academy is already engraving statuettes for both actors, just to be prepared.