{"id":347575,"date":"2025-09-01T08:44:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-01T13:44:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/the-testament-of-ann-lee-first-look-review\/"},"modified":"2025-09-01T08:44:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-01T13:44:53","slug":"the-testament-of-ann-lee-first-look-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/michigandigitalnews.com\/index.php\/2025\/09\/01\/the-testament-of-ann-lee-first-look-review\/","title":{"rendered":"The Testament of Ann Lee \u2013 first-look review"},"content":{"rendered":"

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One of my favourite Wikipedia pages is entitled \u200b\u2018<\/span>List of people claimed to be Jesus<\/a>\u2019 which documents, as one might gather, people throughout history who have professed to be the second coming. It\u2019s not a\u00a0particularly lengthy list and it\u2019s unclear what the criteria is for inclusion, but nestled in the 18<\/span>th<\/sup> century section is Ann Lee, the female leader of the Shakers \u2013 a\u00a0restorationist Christian sect formed in Manchester, England in 1747<\/span>. Their unusual name developed from \u200b\u2018<\/span>The Shaking Quakers\u2019, as they were originally called, due to their fervent and lively worship sessions which featured singing, ritual dancing and trance-like states. They were also known for their staunch belief in celibacy, not shared by the Quaker community at large. Although small, the Shakers developed quite a\u00a0reputation in the God-fearing north of England, and were frequently targeted because of their feverish displays of worship. No one more so than their pious and devoted leader, Mother Ann Lee, whom the Shakers regarded as the second coming of Christ.<\/p>\n

In Mona Fastvold\u2019s vision of Lee\u2019s remarkable and mostly little known life, Amanda Seyfried takes centre stage, embodying the preacher with a\u00a0beatific ease. Her expressive eyes and melodic voice sell both Lee\u2019s personal conviction and that of her followers \u2013 there\u2019s no question why they choose to follow her, for there\u2019s something angelic and earnest about her faith. At her side are her most faithful disciples: her brother William (Lewis Pullman) and loyal follower Mary (Thomasin McKenzie) who also serves as the film\u2019s narrator. Less convinced is her husband Abraham (Christopher Abbott), with his coal-black hair and sad eyes, who really doesn\u2019t take to the idea of indefinite abstinence. As word spreads of the possibilities offered for freedom in the New World, Ann and her Shakes grow excited. They decide to take their gospel of ecstatic praise and honest work to America.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Capturing the religious zeal and unwavering faith of the Shakers through haunting compositions by Daniel Blumberg, choral arrangements incorporating original Shaker hymns and intricate choreography crafted by Celia Rowlson-Hall, there\u2019s no question Fastvold\u2019s third feature is ambitious, and the tactile 35<\/span>mm film stock (blown up to 70<\/span>mm) reflects the appreciation the Shakers have for all things tactile and well-crafted. (Though at times the amount of darkness makes it difficult to make out much more than abstract shapes in different shades of black and brown.) Their purity is fascinating in a\u00a0world where that seems completely alien; the Shakers are unwavering in their devotion, and even when they\u2019re beaten and broken for their religious beliefs, they continually put themselves back together and carry\u00a0on.\u00a0<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a\u00a0beautiful showcase for Seyfried\u2019s talent and the amount of work that went into researching and crafting the world of the Shakers is evident on screen, but The Testament of Ann Lee<\/i> never quite finds an emotional pull in the way that Fastvold\u2019s previous film, The World to Come, <\/i>did. Like a\u00a0beautifully crafted Shaker chair, the skill is evident, but admiration doesn\u2019t quite transform into resonance, even with the obvious parallel between Ann Lee and the women tried for witchcraft in the centuries that surrounded Lee\u2019s life. There\u2019s also a\u00a0sort of reverence for Lee and her doctrine which is never once challenged \u2013 perhaps because we\u2019re situated so closely to her, in a\u00a0story told by her closest pupil \u2013 and this unrelenting adulation does dull the film\u2019s pace, a\u00a0cacophony of voices clamouring to proclaim Lee\u2019s divinity.<\/p>\n

Despite its chilliness and sometimes perplexing lack of interest in interrogating the mythology of Ann Lee, there\u2019s plenty that\u2019s impressive and admirable about Fastvold\u2019s work, co-written with her husband and creative partner Brady Corbet. Yet that might just be the problem: The Testament of Ann Lee <\/i>feels more a\u00a0technical wonder than a\u00a0spiritual one.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n