Patron Pick – Tell It To The Bees

This special reward is available to Patreon patrons who pledge at the $10 or $20 monthly levels. Each month, those patrons will pick a film for me to review. If they choose, they also get to include some of their thoughts about the movie. This Pick comes from Bekah Lindstrom.

Tell It To The Bees (2018)
Written by Henrietta Ashworth and Jessica Ashworth
Directed by Annabel Jankel

If you are looking for a passionate love story about two women, might I recommend two other, better films – Desert Hearts and A Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The reason why I promote those films over this one is because they are just simply much better made. From the writing to the directing of the actors to the cinematography, those movies don’t just deliver a lesbian love story; they are masterfully executed films. In discussions about representation in the media, I hate that there’s this rallying cry that groups which have been marginalized should be present in the utter shit that the cis white straight people make. I don’t know why anyone would want to set the bar so low. I want queer people, Black people, Indigenous people, disabled people, et al., to not just be in movies but to be in the best movies.

Based on the novel of the same name, Tell It To The Bees is about Lydia (Holliday Grainger), a single mother in rural Scotland. Her son, Charlie, bonds with Jean (Anna Paquin), a local woman who has returned to her family’s estate after a long absence to start a medical practice. Jean raises bees, and Charlie enjoys helping her out and observing the insects. Lydia’s housing situation goes south after she causes an accident in her workplace and loses her job. Jean offers up her home, which is just her in a mansion. Charlie’s father and his sister are around but offer no help. However, they have plenty of judgment when questions about Jean’s sexuality and the nature of Lydia’s relationship with her arise. The film unfolds without surprises and ends on a pat note, which I expect you’ll predict early into viewing.

The director of this film is Annabel Jankel, who co-created Max Headroom and is most well-known for co-directing the film Super Mario Bros. in 1994. Most of her directing since has been in commercials, music videos, and specialty videos used in presentations and concerts. They are not the strongest bona fides in filmmaking, but I wasn’t going to judge until I saw the picture. What happened was the film went to shoot with a script that needed much more rewriting to be anywhere close to presentable. The result is that characters are irritatingly didactic and have to explicitly state things about themselves, others, and their situations in a manner that implies the screenwriters don’t think the audience can parse anything.

The tone of the film is all over the place. At times, it feels like a historical drama; at others, it veers weirdly into horror territory, but not completely. It attempts to touch on so many things at once. There is, of course, the queer plot element, but we also have a single working mother and a deadbeat dad. Added to that is a side plot about Lydia’s niece-by-marriage becoming involved with a Black man who lives in the village. She elopes and becomes pregnant, only to have her mother, the wicked sister of Lydia’s ex, force an abortion on her. For a ninety-minute film, there are a lot of plot elements to pack into one picture. Maybe it worked better in the novel, but a movie focusing solely on Lydia and Jean’s relationship would have been far better.

That relationship’s conclusion is also controversial for fans of the novel. The book’s ending provides a happy conclusion for Lydia, Jean, and Charlie. The film forces the women to part ways while trying to spin it positively. Pair that with a low budget reflected in the production, including some of the most generic-sounding music you’ve ever heard in a score, and you’re left with something disappointing. Though they seemed to spend a hell of a lot on those damn CGI bees.

That ending perpetuates a horrible trope in queer cinema that people in same-sex relationships must always be miserable and never able to be together. Jean’s wealth would have been a factor that made a difference in the period; she could afford to protect Lydia and Charlie. The fact that the screenwriters and the director were all women and we ended up with this is incredibly baffling. Even the novel’s author, Fiona Shaw, has gone on record saying she does not like the film ending, while director Jankel has provided the trite “It’s more true to the time” response. There are such better films that you shouldn’t waste your time watching this one.