In 1952 Dr. Jean Markham returns to her Scottish hometown to take over her late father's medical practice. She soon becomes ostracized by the community when she begins a passionate romance with a woman who has a young son.
It has been a good year for LGBT movies, with Colette and Portrait of a Lady on Fire making quite the strong impression. There is something about a love that comes through against all obstacles that can create such a riveting and impassioned viewing. Tell It To The Bees is another attempt at this genre, that is adapted from a best-selling novel--of the same name--by Fiona Shaw.
Shaw has spoken out about the changes that occurred between the novel and the film adaptation, quite rightly pointing out that variations are inevitable as a seven-hour reading experience gets whittled down to a 108-minute film, but voiced her dislike for the new direction of the ending. An ending that she felt changed the entire moral direction of the characters.
Directed by Annabel Jankel, with the screenplay written by Jessica Ashworth and Henrietta Ashworth, Tell It To The Bees stars Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger in this tale of forbidden romance between Jean and Lydia (respectively), viewed from the perspective of Lydia's 10-year-old-son, Charlie (played by Gregor Selkirk)
Viewing this burgeoning relationship from a child's point-of-view is an intriguing touch that highlights the consequences of societal expectations and how easily they can be used to turn someone if they feel slighted and are looking for something to blame. It also, however, means that there is a lot of information that is missed as things are left out and omitted for the sake of sparing the child from worry. It ends up creating a story that doesn't flow as well as it should and comes across as rushed in certain aspects.
Perhaps not enough components were removed from the source material, as the numerous subplots almost become a distraction that prevents the audience from being able to focus on the main storyline. The story takes place in post-war rural Scotland and touches on depression and post-traumatic stress disorder, abandonment and adultery, interracial taboos and abortion, sexual and domestic violence, and general racism and homophobia.
Combine all of these elements with a narrative framework that attempts to draw parallels to our protagonists' story with the successful natural matriarchal structure of the honey bee colonies, and Tell It To The Bees starts to become clunky and convoluted. This is not helped by a third act that goes all-in on the fantastical aspects of these bee colonies reaching a point that feels forced and inauthentic.
There is still a lot to enjoy in this film, however. There are some really compelling scenes that are the perfect example of tenderness and passion that creates strong chemistry onscreen. Holliday Grainger in particular puts on a spellbinding performance that draws you in and keeps you hooked. Anna Paquin has some good moments but feels much more restrained in her approach. It could be put down to the direction, which may have her character struggling with having to repress her sexuality, but comes across as non-committal at times.
Tell It To The Bees has a good subtle score from Claire M Singer, and convincing set design and costuming that feels very 1950s authentic. Unfortunately, the film is let down by a poorly adapted screenplay that brings too much into a short runtime and drops the ball with its ending, reducing the emotional impact of its conclusion to nil.