The Testament of Ann Lee
20256.0movie
People
The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers.
The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers.
Amanda Seyfried, Mona Fastvold, and Lewis Pullman attend the premiere of 'The Testament of Ann Lee' during the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival.It’s quite extraordinary that a third joined, but no, I didn’t want to consult them because my interpretation of this story is probably quite different from theirs. I’ve taken creative liberties. I’ve merged characters. I’ve imagined things. My reason for telling the story is different probably from their reason to be part of this religion.
If the results are as bracingly eccentric as that description promises, they’re also less ironic than you might think. Fastvold and her co-writer/creative partner Brady Corbet may maintain a cool, analytical distance in their study of an extreme religious movement founded on challenging principles of celibacy and utopian equality, but “The Testament of Ann Lee” isn’t a travesty or a mockery. As a study of unyielding faith practiced on wholly singular terms, it’s raptly respectful and intellectually curious, even if dramatically, it can pall across the course of a languid 136-minute runtime.
