Tell It to the Bees
- Director: Annabel Jankel
- Writer: Henrietta Ashworth; Jessica Ashworth
- Producer: Daisy Allsop; Nik Bower
CGiii Comment
Pre-sexual revolution of the 60s, setting: small-town Scotland...and, some Sapphic stirrings in the undergrowth. Oooh the scandal of it all!!!
Tell it to the Bees is a mixed bag of youthful loveliness and domestic trauma...with one major [and inexplicable] problem: The ending! Why change the perfectly good ending [of the book] into something so unsatisfactory and implausible?!? Or, perhaps, this man's mind is completely at a loss when it comes to the woman's psyche...and, the swarming instinct of bees!
Seriously, this is a lovely film that [sadly] asks [just a little] too much from its audience...when belief flies out of the window [and bees, literally, fly in]. Up until this point, the gentleness of the story is a delight, young Gregor Selkirk is a joy to watch as he confronts and computes the harsh realities of life. Anna Paquin and Holliday Grainger, they do the story proud. There is so much to commend this film...however, when the 'fantasy' hits the fan...aaargh! It's so frustrating, tripping before the last hurdle...it all boils down to...the bees had one scene too many!
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
A single mother Lydia (Holliday Grainger) who is abandoned by her husband, meets the small village's Doctor Jean Markham (Anna Paquin) who has recently returned to her hometown when Lydia's son Charlie is taken under the doctor after being bullied in school. When Lydia and Charlie are unhosed because of Lydia's earnings from her work are not adequate to pay the rent, Jean invites them to stay in her home and she and Lydia soon develop a friendship and maybe something more.
Cast & Characters
Kate Dickie
Emun Elliott as Robert
Holliday Grainger as Lydia
Rebecca Hanssen as Irene
Leo Hoyte-Egan as George
Isaac Jenkins as Tim Bewick
Lauren Lyle
Sarah McCardie as Mrs. Robson
Anna Paquin as Dr. Jean Markham
Steven Robertson
Gregor Selkirk as Charlie Weekes
Alexa Snell as Meg
Lauren Annie Boyle as Chanting Girl 1
Zara Howell as Chanting Girl #2