Fale com as Abelhas

I'm a Conservative, Straight guy, but this movie tugged hard at my heartstrings. The acting of the three principal players was exceptional throughout the entire film. The storyline was completely believable and powerful. I don't want to say too much about the plot, but I really emphasized with the players. The love shown was real and palpable. That is significant.

Don't get me wrong, I did like this film. The fashion style and the two main actresses don't disappoint. However, I'm not sure why they chose to diverge so much from such a well done book and the happy ending of it? The departure from the flow of the book made the last half hour feel clunky.

The director draws excellent performances from the two female leads (playing Lydia and Dr Jean) and also from the very capable supporting cast. The cinematography and production design capture the ambience and restrictive social mores of the "small" 1950s Scottish mill town quite convincingly. The story is less convincing about the symbolism of the bees (which is presumably derived from the book). We see too many random extreme close-ups of bees, Lydia's son Charlie sharing his secrets with the bees in their hives, and in the last 20 minutes of the movie, an incident which implies that the bees have developed some sort of preternatural relationship with the boy. This latter aspect, particularly, seems rather incongruous with the otherwise quite adult themed lesbian romance story. It strikes me as a movie primarily to be enjoyed for its great character acting.

Tell It To The Bees, is a beautiful film set in a time that those, who gave this film one star, possibly wished would return. A time when to choose who we loved was considered a vile act, but to act vilely to those that did was expected behaviour. The film tells its story with grace, leaving the audience to decide who, if anyone in particular, are the victims. Special mention for Gregor Selkirk who is captivating as the young son, caught in the middle of the storm. Even though several have seemingly chosen to make a moral judgement in their score (for a film that isn't really that contentious) I will simply give what I hope is a more reasoned assessment. An excellent film and well worth your time.

I can feel the warmth in the chemistry between Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger. Two lonely and sad characters finding happiness in each other. The movie was better than expected. And the message and narrative are still relevant today. Because lesbian relationships are still frowned upon in some societies.