Well-worn narrative has it’s charms
Review
Tell it to the Bees
(R16, 106mins) Directed by Annabel Jankel Reviewed by
★★★
James Croot
As Dr Jean Markham (Anna Paquin) laments, her hometown was always ‘‘too small for secrets’’. And yet, although she was hounded out of there in her youth, she’s returned, driven by a sense of duty to take her father’s place as the Scottish village’s sole doctor.
Despite World War II having ended seven years ago, life is hard for everyone – none more so than for Lydia Weekes (Holliday Grainger) and her son Charlie (Gregor Selkirk).
Husband and father Robert (Emun Elliott) was never the same after the global conflict, and has now run off with another woman. That’s left mill worker Lydia unable to cover her rent.
Salvation comes from an unlikely source. Besotted by her bees, Charlie has befriended Jean and, upon hearing of his mother’s plight, she offers to take them in. But as the two women get close, rumours begin to swirl, past accusations are exhumed and any chance of happiness for Charlie, Jean and Lydia begins to look highly unlikely.
Fans of Fiona Shaw’s 2009 novel of the same name are likely to be disappointed by some of the changes wrought by Tell it to the Bees’ screenwriters Henrietta and Jessica Ashworth (Killing Eve).
While condensing is only natural and switching from Yorkshire to
Scotland not without precedent, it’s the tinkering with the denouement that is likely to have readers up in arms with an exceedingly strange deviation. Even before that though,
Bees’ suffers from somewhat predictable plotting and a sudden shift to a wacky, vaguely supernatural climax.
Director Annabel Jankel’s tale follows familiar and well-worn narrative beats, with drunken diatribes, intolerant vandalism and an attitude-changing medical emergency all present and correct.
However, Bees certainly isn’t without its charms. The costuming and production design are impressive, and the New Zealandraised Paquin (The Piano) delivers a suitably understated performance of quiet devastation.
That allows Grainger (Animals,
My Cousin Rachel) to take centre stage with a terrific turn as a woman caught between new love and ongoing, old hurts.
Tell it to the Bees is streaming on Lightbox, iTunes and Google Play.