The story is loosely based on the life of
Mary Anning (1799-1847) and reflects the harsh realities of being a woman scientist.
In her time women were not allowed to vote, hold public office, or attend university.
The fossils Anning recovered from the dangerous cliffs of Lyme Regis were frequently attributed to the men who "discovered" them in her shop. Her finds cast doubt on the Biblical account of creation that implied that the Earth was only a few thousand years old,
Her fossils inspired the first painting of an imagined scene from "deep time."
The movie romance is something that could have been, not something that would have been spoken of or documented in those times. Anning and Charlotte Murchison remained friends for life.
Much of the movie was filmed in Dorset in places that still exit.
I'm fascinated by modern digital film making that allows location filming on historical sites, editing out modern intrusions, painting in what's been lost.