The Testament of Ann Lee

I saw "The Testament of Ann Lee" at the Philadelphia Film Festival today. And while I'll readily admit it's NOT a film for the average viewer, it's exceptionally well made and quite interesting...especially since few people know who Ann Lee or the Shakers were.

The story begins in Manchester, England in the mid-18th century. Ann and some friends and family stumble upon an unusual sort of home church. Interestingly, after a short time, she was the leader of the group and introduced her divine messages direct from God. This, combined with the group's tendency to dance and chant feverishly during services differentiated it from the Quakers at the time. However, the two groups further differentiated themselves when Lee announced that God's will was celebacy...and she encouraged members to completely abstain from sex. Additionally, she eventually said she was the second coming of Christ...something that did NOT sit well with the English and she and a small group of her followers soon headed to New York to start their own commune...and soon many others began based on her teachings.

While this is a very religious movie, it certainly isn't likely to make you become a Shaker as there are currently only three in the world! The film's epilogue says two, but one has since been added in August, 2025. Instead, it's like a rare glimse into a world few of us are familiar with and may know nothing about it. I knew a bit, as I used to live near one of the Shaker communities...though by the time I moved to Ohio, the Shakers there had all died or left.

Overall, it's a very well made and interesting film...provided you like history and/or are interested in world religions...and because of this, I cannot imagine the film making a fortune despite being a quality production from start to finish.

Rating - 5.9: Overall, while Amanda Seyfried delivers a standout performance and the musical numbers are well-executed, the problem with 'The Testament of Ann Lee' is that the concept just isn't interesting enough to make a movie about; there is a reason Ann Lee's Wikipedia page is like two pages long because there just isn't that much of a story to tell, and it shows on screen with how stretched out the plot is.

Direction - Decent to Pretty Good: The direction on a macro scale is good, as they build the world well and execute well-choreographed musical sequences that are woven well into the story; The direction on a micro scale is decent, as it emulates the time and the struggles of the character; The storytelling is the biggest issue for this movie because there just isn't that interesting a story to tell, as they try to stretch out the plot farther than it can go, to where the second half of the movie just feels completely void of anything meaningful going on; Even though there isn't much plot, the musical sequences are woven well into the movie to progress the story; They build tension poorly because they do a poor job of building stakes because this just isn't that interesting a main character or story to follow

Story - Bad: The crux of why this movie isn't that good is that the concept just isn't that interesting; there's a reason why Ann Lee's Wikipedia page is like two pages long and why the Shaker religion is basically extinct because there really isn't that much of a story to tell; the plot structure is interesting in the exposition as they build up Ann Lee's character and backstory, but the second half of this movie just feels pretty boring and stretched out because there really isn't anything going on, with the ending feeling anticlimactic despite how stressful they set it up; character writing is pretty good for Ann Lee as they paint her as this new reincarnation of Christ come back to save her followers, but the remaining characters in this movie are given no material to make you care about them as they all just mold into the same generic period drama character

Screenplay - Bad: The dialogue is very period drama and off for the time; The symbolism is hard to believe because the journey you go on for this character kind of makes this movie feel pointless because there is just no significance or impact of Ann Lee on religious or American history, that's why nobody knows about her or the Shakers; The foreshadowing is pretty bad as it just solidifies that there was no reason to make this movie because it builds up to such an anticlimactic ending

Acting - Pretty Good: Amanda Seyfried - Good to Very Good (Carries the movie well, as everything revolves around her; She accurately portrays a Mancunian who leads a group of religious hopefuls to the new world; She shows the hardship needed for someone being persecuted religiously; Shows off her experience carrying musicals, as they are well executed because of her; Has pretty good chemistry with the whole cast), Lewis Pullman - Decent to Pretty Good (Plays his role well and has pretty good chemistry with Amanda Seyfried, he's just given no material to work with), Thomasin McKenzie - Decent (The narrator for the movie, but that is basically all her speaking dialogue as she is basically a background character), Christopher Abbott - Pretty Good (Character shows the power struggle he faces when Seyfried begins to control and dictate the relationship after she gains influence; He has decent chemistry with Seyfried), Tim Blake Nelson - Decent (Maybe he has, like, two lines in this movie), Rest of the cast - Decent (Everyone in this movie just feels the same as there is no individuality in the supporting cast; The background in the musical numbers does help show how intricate and well executed they are; The cast really doesn't have that much chemistry in the dramatic moments because everyone just feels like they are there)

Score - Good: Helps make the movie feel musical and does incorporate the themes throughout the movie to help establish the tone and time period

Soundtrack - Pretty Good to Good: The musical numbers were well executed and did play an integral part in helping move the story forward, there just weren't any memorable songs from this movie The musical numbers were well executed and played an integral part in helping move the story forward, there just weren't any memorable songs from this movie

Cinematography - Good: Well shot and executed helps make the musical numbers feel well executed with its blocking and ability to capture what is on screen

Editing - Pretty Good: Fine for the most part, it tries to have some seamless cuts but fails to capture what it was trying to do

Sound - pretty Good: Helps with establishing how musical this movie is

Production Design - Good to Very Good: Helps with recreating the time period in both Manchester and colonial America

Makeup - Good: Helps show the characters aging and the effect time has had on them

Costumes - Very Good: Help with recreating the time period and what these characters would wear in Manchester and Colonial America

Pacing - Pacing is pretty good for the first half, but feels incredibly slow in the second half as they try to stretch out plot and storylines that are just not there or are interesting; The musical numbers do not slow this movie down as they are integral to helping tell the story

Climax - Climax is underwhelming because they do a bad job building up the stakes for Ann Lee and her mission; to the point where you don't really care what happens to them in the end

Tone - Tone is very 1700s England and America, as there are many shades you would see from a period drama during that time; the movie very much is a musical, but it is not so in your face about it because it is integral to the story

Final Notes - Saw premiere at Austin Film Festival.

I had limited knowledge about Ann Lee prior to the screening of the film, but watching the movie was really eye-opening (especially on 70mm film if possible). The grainy shots were amazing to see and went well with the historical setting.

As for the plot, I think it is precisely beautiful for avoiding assessing the religion with modern condescension. While some of the reviews here have said that there is a clear use of irony and lament the lack of assessments based on such techniques, I could not agree.

I think as per the director's comments after the tiff screening, the film is more about depicting a historical figure and a (arguably) historical religion in its own right. Of course the legends, stories, and religious practices would look ridiculous in a modern lens, but that really in my view is not the main point of the film.

To me, I resonate more with the opportunity to gain knowledge on the tolerance (religious and racial), forgiveness, promotion of equity, and non-violence of the shakers, which came across clearly and unironically in the film, with a great sense of integrity.

Those qualities are rare for a religion in the 18th century and the film does a great job making them more well-known to the general public.