It doesn't take William long to learn that he has married the wrong woman. Matty is his perfect companion, but he recognizes too late how little value should be placed on physical appearance. The similarities and differences are striking. Like men and women, ants are organized, social creatures whose primary purpose is reproduction. However, in the kingdom of the insects, there is no decadence, no hatred, and no duplicity.
Ants serve their queen selflessly rather than always seeking their own ends.
None of the men or women populating this film grab our sympathy. In the case of someone as shallow as Eugenia, this is entirely appropriate, but William remains strangely distant, in part because of a bland performance by Mark Rylance. As Anthony Hopkins has shown, it's possible to present a passionate portrait of restraint. Unfortunately, Rylance's William is too often without soul or heart. This leads us to watch him with interest, but never become emotionally engaged in his travails.