Tell it to the Bees (2018)

IMDb plot summary: In 1950s small town Britain, a doctor develops a relationship with her young patient's mother.

Directed by Annabel Jankel. Starring Gregor Selkirk, Anna Paquin, and Holliday Grainger.

Tell It to the Bees is set in 1950s Scotland, told through the eyes of a young boy whose father has run off. He befriends the new female doctor in town, as does his mother, and soon there are rumors flying that the relationship between the mother and the doctor is something beyond friendship. While this kind of forbidden love story is sometimes told in an almost lurid fashion, I liked how here it is centered initially on their friendship and companionship, only later blossoming into something more. There's a sweetness to the movie which is very charming, and when things get particularly difficult for this little family it feels just sadly *off*, like these people shouldn't have to have such a tough go of it. The sweetness grounds it, however, rather than making it cheesy or sentimental, and it keeps it from feeling overly melodramatic or exploitative of these characters' misery. It's not a spectacular film, but it is one that I enjoyed.

How it entered my Flickchart:

Tell It to the Bees > The Keep

Tell It to the Bees > Munich

Tell It to the Bees < The Maltese Falcon

Tell It to the Bees < Synecdoche, New York

Tell It to the Bees > Is It College Yet?

Tell It to the Bees < Au Revoirs les Enfants

Tell It to the Bees > The Great Gatsby

Tell It to the Bees < Sanjuro

Tell It to the Bees < Roxanne

Tell It to the Bees < Il Postino: The Postman

Tell It to the Bees < Do the Right Thing

Tell It to the Bees > Flee

Final spot: #749 out of 3559, or 79%.