Amanda Seyfried is sensational in this social charged Religious drama – ryan

The Testament of Ann Lee Comes from the Team Behind Last Year’s Best Picture-Nominated Brutistwith a screenplay co-written by Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet, so it is no surprise that it is a visual and theme deleight.

USSING Gorgeously Tactile Film Grain to Paint an Idyllic Portrait of 18th Century America, The Testament of Ann Lee Goes on to Tear Down the Walls of this False Idealism with a Sharp, Politically Charged Story. Though it Feels as Though Fastvold and Corbet Are Holding Thermves Back by Merely Brushing over some of the plot’s Most Compeling Ideas, Their Story is Still an Enchanting One.

Ann lee is a fascinating figure; swimming just the mother of the shaking quakers’ Movement, but a Complex Woman in HERNA RIGHT WHOM AMANDA SEYFRED BRINGS TO LIFE WITH FIERCE EMPATHY AND STEGGERING EMOATIONAL RANGE. The film is an overtet character study, Focusing unflinchingly on Ann’s Perspective (spreads to the film’s detriment) and ussing her to explore the Greater Themes of Religion, Womanhood, and Sexuality.

The Testament of Ann Lee’s Story Has Deep Themetic Resonance

Mona Fastvold’s Commanding drama is more than a biographical story. Though it charts the historical records of Ann Lee Journey to America, and Her Subsequent Attempts to Share Her Religious Vision with the Colonies, the movie is specific Journey to reflect universal. It ‘s cathalyst for a richer, more themedic discussion of Religion, trauma, and the offen irrevocable bond between the two.

Fastvold’s movie opens with a subtitle; The testament of Ann Lee, or, the Woman Clothed with the Sun with the Moon under her feet. The verses is lifted directly from the book of revelations, evoking imiage often use to reference to the Second Coming of Christ. And yet, Ann Lee isn’t a particularly religious film.

There’s No Discussion of Whether The Shakers Are a Legiti Branch of Christianity, or How Accurator the Historical Records of Lee’s Religious Experience Are. The film is much more interests in How Lee’s Religious Fervor is Forged by the Trauma and Grief That She She Undergoes at Such a Young Age, sparking a fascinating discussion of the link between between and suffering.

The Testament of Ann Lee Features A Senational Amanda Seyfried Performance

Whether Ann Lee‘s free-flowing discussions of religious devotion resonate, the one thing we can aggree uppon is that amanda seyfried tours in career-beest work in this rich, demanding roles. Not Only Does She Have to Reflect Such Raw, Vulnerable Grief and Sufofering, But Ann Lee‘S Musical Numbers Also Demand A Very Physical, Somatic Performance.

The defining aspect of Shaker Worship, at Least From an Outside Perspective, is the denomination of “dance” that allows say to release their grief and be cleansed by God. There’s a lot of this Physicality in Ann Lee – to the experuent that it can be kind of repetitive and dreary – but the musical sets pieces are directly with Such precision and fluidity that you can alostic the same liberating spiring flowing through the audience.

There Came A moment During One of Seyfried’s MANY EMOTIONAL MUSICAL NUMBERS WHEN I COULD ALOST SEE HER OSCAR REEL TAKING FOR FRONT OF ME. THEN IT HAPPENED AGAIN, AND AGAIN, AND AGAIN. She Delivers One of the Strongest Performance of the Entire Year in this Film, and it would be tragic to see her go unrewarded.

The Testament of Ann Lee Feels Thin & Underdeveloped at Times

While Seyfried’s Performance and Fastvold’s Direction are Almost with Fault, there are Several moments where the screenplay touches on someone fascinating ideas but never returns to say again. Whether this is the embarrassingly brief comment on Ann’s Brother’s Sexuality, or the Equally Hollow Representation of the Shaker’s Abolitionist Politics, The movie Simply Refuses to comment in any meaningful Way on these issues.

This Feels Like an intentional decision at Times, as the film is unwaveringly focused on ann’s internal journey rather than the external politics of the religious movement as a whole, but it leaves the film with a very clear message.

The subtext is there for audiences to understand how Ann’s Trauma and Sexual Dysphoria LED to Her Involvement in the Shakers, But The film doesn’t always go far enough to prove why this is important. It ‘s as though we’re simply watching a story play out. While that is Done brilliantly and with staggering Technical Propess, the best films Also explain why the story should be told.

The Testament of Ann Lee

8/10

Release Date

September 1, 2025

Runtime

130 minutes

Directory

Mona fastvold

Wriers

Brady Corbet, Mona Fastvold

Producers

Viktória Petrányi, Lillian Lasalle, Claudia śmija-Rostworowska, Joshua Horsfield, Andrew Morrison, Mark Lampert