What’s the Deal with Francis Lee's ‘Ammonite’?

Francis Lee’s “Ammonite” has a respectable 80% on Rotten Tomatoes and a 75 Metacritic score, but one does have to beg to ask the question, what is NEON hiding? The studio behind “Ammonite” has been very nitpicky in regard to screening Lee’s film for critics. That’s all fine and dandy, but, as it turns out, this is the only movie of the fall festival season whose publicists refused to send me a digital viewing link. Is it because buzz is dwindling?

With studios delaying releases until 2021, let’s be frank, there just won’t be that many Oscar contenders in 2020, but there are exceptions, and Lee’s “Ammonite” is one of them. Chosen to be part of this year’s nixed Cannes and Telluride Film Festivals, this lesbian romance screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in early September to very limited press.

Neon is being very conservative in regards to screening this movie. This plan might actually be hurting its Oscar chances, especially since the reception, from those who have seen it, has not met the expectations/buzz set forth when it was first announced as part of the Cannes 2020 label back in May. Add in the fact that “Ammonite” isn’t coming out until late November and it could very well be forgotten come awards time. And so, I’ve again kindly asked the people over at NEON to send me a link to this movie - I’m not the boogeyman.

“Ammonite” is scheduled for a November 13 release via Neon