Director Francis Lee’s gay drama love story “God’s Own Country” was easily one of the Best Films of 2017 You Didn’t See and so damn good it also made our list proper Best Films Of 2017 list. Lee’s incredible film, intimate, sparse and unsentimental, created a terrific, unvarnished look at masculine love, something of a nice antidote to the won’t-show-dongs conservative take of “Call Me By Your Name,” released in the same year (many thought ‘Country’ was superior, but perhaps queer films shouldn’t be bucketed like that). Now, Lee is back at it with a superstar cast in tow.
‘God’s Own Country’ Is A Sexy And Intimate Tale Of A Gay Man Finding Love [Review]
Lee has signed on to direct the romance-drama “Ammonite” with prestige stars Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan in the lead roles. Set in a UK coastal town in the 1840s, “Ammonite” will follow the unlikely romance between paleontologist Mary Anning and a London woman of means to whom she must unexpectedly play nursemaid.
Producers haven’t announced who will play who, but Lee is writing the script himself. According to the Telegraph, Anning is renowned for her discoveries of Jurassic fossils around Lyme Regis, Dorset, and in 2010 she was named as one of the Royal Society’s ten most influential British women in science.
READ MORE: The Best Films Of 2017
Production is due to start in March, so it’s likely going to be a 2020 player, but don’t be surprised if this film ups Lee’s status on the international charts as one of the most promising filmmakers on the planet. It’s easy to see this one making a big splash on the film festival circuit that year and who knows beyond that. Certainly, earmark it for Most Anticipated 2020 and keep an ear out for more details.
Here’s the trailer for “God’s Own Country” in case you missed it. [Deadline]