LFF 2025: The Testament of Ann Lee
Possibly one of the most beguiling musicals ever made
Festival Review: The Testament of Ann Lee (dir. Mona Fastvold)
Plot in a nutshell
In the 18th century, Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) grows up in impoverished and puritan Manchester. With her brother William (Lewis Pullman) by her side, she finds meaning and comfort in a small religious community. Ann goes on to become one of the founding leaders of the Shakers and travels to America to spread her faith to others, in the face of new challenges.
The writing team behind The Brutalist (2024), Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold, are back with The Testament of Ann Lee, with director’s chairs flipped around and Fastvold taking the reins from Corbet. The movie is all the better for it, because not only is Ann Lee one of the most compelling (and harmonious) musicals I have ever seen (and heard), but it’s a story that could only really be told through the female gaze.
Similar to Die, My Love and If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, a film that deals with motherhood at its epicentre should only be directed by a woman. Like those two films, Ann Lee puts a microscope on a woman who feels the pangs of a mother’s pain, but unlike Grace and Linda, Ann’s mothering nature is her overriding setting; as paramount as oxygen to her very existence. One child-related tragedy after another brings Ann to her knees, before God, where she finds herself making a solemn vow to Jesus and only Jesus, promising to be mother to all who follow her as she spreads His word far and wide.
As the name suggests, the Shakers (an offshoot of the better known Quakers) repent their sins and connect with God by chanting and shaking their bodies in a trance. They also sing beautiful hymns and anthems as a way to connect spiritually with one another as a community. It’s strange, and Fastvold leans into the strangeness by turning the film into a musical. And because the songs and the music are so integral to the Shakers, whenever there’s a song and dance sequence, it feels like the most natural, organic thing in this strange world of faith, spirituality and unyielding trust in their cause.
The harmonies are glorious and the performance by Seyfried is stupendous - she commits herself fully to the role and easily gives the performance of her career. Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie (who does double duty as narrator of the tale and Ann Lee’s right-hand disciple) and Christopher Abbott as Ann’s sexually frustrated husband, all feed off of Seyfried and never buckle, rounding up an excellent ensemble.
Not only do I find The Testament of Ann Lee a better film than The Brutalist, but as someone who is usually not a fan of musicals, I can’t remember the last time one bewitched me quite like this. Beautifully shot, composed, performed and designed; Ann Lee is unlike any musical you’ve ever seen and, if you let the strangeness of this unique religious community in, you may find yourself profoundly moved and shaken.
Nice Niki! I must see this movie. 🙏❤️