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Released in time for International Women’s Month, Steven Kammerer’s “Ada” is a wonderful and beautifully acted tale of one of the world’s unsung heroes. Kammerer uses his short format to tell the tale of Ada Lovelace, a well beyond her time genius who envisioned the plans for the first ever computer program in the 1840’s. Her notes were later discovered by Alan Turing used as inspiration for the very first computer.
Played very well by Julie Bruns, “Ada” catches the titular inventor near the end of her life where, at her young age, she was fighting horrible cancer, and spent most of her free time working on equations. When she wasn’t doing that she spent her time trying to be taken seriously by her male colleagues, all of whom mocked and derided her for her vision when she approaches them for funding to help build the programs. “Ada” works well for such a short form story, focusing primarily on the trailblazer and icon that is Ada Lovelace, and her grappling with a society that demanded that she stay silent and subservient most of the time.
Bruns is just powerful and dynamite in this role, portraying Lovelace as someone who really had something immense to offer the world but could sadly not outlast the horrible illness that took her life. The filming was conducted primarily in Canada as part of the Crazy8s filmmaking program, and the cast and crew worked over time to be as period accurate as possible. Their attention to detail shows and shines within the story of Ada Lovelace, allowing for director Kammerer to showcase Ada’s stifling creative environment. Kudos also goes to the set design from Jennifer LeCaine and Shaun Major, both of whom truly adhere to the film’s commitment to its period.
“Ada” is a fascinating tale, and one that I sadly wasn’t very familiar with. It’s a great production from top to bottom and deserves an audience.