From writer/directorFrancis Lee, the biographical dramaAmmonitetells the story of palaeontologist Mary Anning (Kate Winslet), whose solitary work hunting and preserving fossils on the brutal Southern English coastline of Lyme Regis during the 1840s leads to a meeting with a young woman sent to convalesce by the sea. Charlotte (Saoirse Ronan), who is recovering from a personal tragedy that has left her feeling both lonely and disconnected from her husband, develops an intense relationship with Mary that makes them both feel less alone.
During this 1-on-1 phone interview with Collider, Academy Award winner Kate Winslet talked about how quickly she knew that she wanted to be a part of this film, why she wanted to work with filmmakerFrancis Lee, what impressed her about Mary Anning, and how different it felt to get a say in her sex scenes with Saoirse Ronan. She also talked about reuniting withTitanicdirectorJames Cameronto join the world ofAvatar, and what it’s like to shoot scenes underwater.
COLLIDER: You did such tremendous work in this film. Thank you for shining a light on Mary Anning and her work as a palaeontologist.
KATE WINSLET: Thank you. It was such a wonderful film to be a part of and it’s very exciting that people are seeing it now, despite all of the global challenges. It feels good to be able to talk about it like this.
I read that you committed to doing this 12 hours after reading the script. Is that something typical for you? Have you ever done that so quickly before, or is it rare for you to get so interested so fast?
WINSLET: To be honest with you, it’s rare that I have an immediate window when I’m actually able to sit down and just read something in one sitting right away on receiving it. It was Francis Lee’s writing of the script andGod’s Own Country, which I had loved, that were really the things that made me respond so immediately. But I was in the middle of filming something else and my agent had phoned and said, “Look, I know that it’s hard for you to read when you’re working on a different project but this is really amazing. It’s a very important story. And I just need you to read it as soon as you possibly can.” I just took those words very seriously and I decided, then and there, “You know what? I’m just gonna stay up and read it, even though I have to go to bed and I have a 5:00 am wake up for work the next day. Fuck it.” Also, it was from Francis Lee. He’d written the script as well, and I was just so excited to receive a script from a filmmaker who I admired, who had only been making films for four years, and who used to be an actor. He’s just such an interesting, rich, creative person who’s from working class roots and an unlikely filmmaker. I’m always very intrigued by individuals who’ve really worked their way up and gone through a lot of their own personal challenges to feel brave enough to put themselves out there and tell stories on film. It was a combination of all those things that made me just sit down and pay attention right away.
With everything that you learned about Mary Anning, through doing this film and with all of the research, what have you grown to appreciate about her?
WINSLET: There are obviously many things that I grew to appreciate about Mary Anning, but the one thing I could say was that Mary was incredibly uncomplaining. Even though she lived this awfully impoverished, very, very harsh, hard life, she somehow still had unbelievable passion for what she did for her livelihood. She knew that she was selling her fossils to rich, powerful men who were not as clever as her. She knew that she wasn’t being credited for those finds. Yet somehow, Mary never became bitter or resentful or pissed off. She was very compassionate. She was extremely wise. She shared had knowledge with those men and those scientists who were inquiring from her daily about what she had found and what would be a good place to go dig and look. She was a resource to those people and she gave her knowledge freely and openly. She was just a kind and good human being. That, for me, was something that I really kept in my mind. It would’ve been easy to play her as an angry person, given the construction of the story and the time in her life that our story finds her. She’s tired in our story and she’s poor, and she doesn’t have much of an outlook of any kind, at all. She just keeps going for the sake of her mother but she was able to feel compassion and to show extraordinary affection and care for Charlotte when Charlotte is dying. If it weren’t for Mary, Charlotte wouldn’t have made it. It was really important to me that we got to see that very compassionate side of Mary Anning because, in truth, it really did exist. And so, that was the biggest take home about her, for me. She was this very uncomplaining, stoic pack horse of a woman who just kept going. I admire women like that in general.
Because you had a say in how the sex scenes would play out and what they would be, how different does it feel on set when you’re able to be in charge and in control of how those scenes are choreographed?
WINSLET: Well, it’s a lot more fun when you can enter into something with someone of the same sex, quite honestly. The level of equality that you feel was really surprising to me. I’m almost ashamed to admit how surprised I was to find how safe we both felt. Of course, we were going to feel safe and of course it was going to feel equal, but it felt so abundantly filled with equality and connection and respect. It was just wonderful to share in that with Saoirse [Ronan] and it really did make me question how much I’ve truly used my voice in the past. I’ve always felt like I have done that but it, for sure, made me take a step back and question how willing I’ve to step into conventional stereotypes because removing the conventional stereotypes just became so easy. Everything was just easy and connected. We wanted to be truthful to the characters and to their relationship and the power of what they feel for one another, and to also show the intimacy between the two of these women, without fear, without hesitation, and without secrecy. It was important to us to respect those elements of their relationship, particularly given the period in which the story is set. It was so filled with joy, honestly. It just felt wonderful.
We recently got to see a photo of you underwater from the set ofAvatar. How does the James Cameron making theAvatarsequels compare to the James Cameron that you worked with onTitanic?
WINSLET: Well, look, we’re all older. We all got older. I look back on the experience of makingTitanicand it’s no secret that it was a very difficult shoot. It was very, very stressful and things were tough for all involved. When I think about what Jim had to pull off – six-day weeks, for a seven and a half months shoot, four and a half months of which were night – Christ, I know that was hard for us, the young actors. But I’m able to gain perspective as well, and with the benefit of hindsight, I look at what Jim was trying to pull off and the level of pressure he was under, and actually, I have even more respect for him now than I ever have done before. And the Jim Cameron onAvatar, he is calmer. I will say that he’s just much more stepped into his true self, I think. That’s because of experience. That’s also because he’s doneAvatarbefore, so he knows this world and he knows these characters. He’s invented that way of filming. There’s a level of confidence that has grounded him in a much more comfortable place, just for him. He was brilliantly collaborative onAvatar, honestly. I was awe struck by how much time he allows for the actors to often just meander over a scene, if it doesn’t feel like it fit quite right. And obviously safety had to come first. Listen, if there’s a proper world collapse and we really are all set on fire and there’s another global pandemic any minute now, I can tell you with my hand on my heart, one of the people I would want to be with in that bunker is Jim Cameron. He’s very much safety first. I felt really good working with him. I’m so excited forAvatar. I didn’t realize there had been a picture of me underwater. That’s funny. Am I wearing my silver suit with my bobbles on me?
You have this wing-like thing on.It’s a very cool photo.
WINSLET: It was amazing. That’s right, I was walking on the bottom of the tank. That’s a big ceremonial sequence with those huge heavy wings. That was quite scary. The thing is, when you may hold your breath for seven minutes, you become unafraid. Actually, strangely, I was able to rely on my own ability to hold my breath for that long. Somehow I was not afraid, at all. And there’s so much safety underwater. There are two safety divers on every performer. There are two safety divers on every underwater camera. There were so many people in that tank. I probably felt safer down there than I did on dry land. I found the whole thing incredibly calming. There was something very meditative to me, and I don’t meditate. I can’t switch my brain off. I’m too busy. I love doing yoga, but I can only do it for about 25 minutes, and then I’m making lists. I get bored and I have to stop. But somehow, learning how to breath hold was one of the most calming things I’ve ever done because you have to slow your body down. You actually have to lower your heart rate to be able to oxygenate your body and subsequently hold your breath for that long. So, I had no choice but to stop fucking moving, which is not normal for me.
