The Testament of Ann Lee (dir. Mona Fastvold)
Certificate: 15
Running Time: 137 mins
UK Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
UK Release Date: 27 February 2026
WHO’S IN THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE?
Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Jamie Bogyo, Viola Prettlejohn, David Cale, Esmee Hewett, Millie Rose Crossley, Benjamin Bagota, Harry Conway
WHO’S BEHIND THE CAMERA?
Mona Fastvold (director, writer, producer), Brady Corbet (writer, producer), Joshua Horsfield, Gregory Jankilevitsch, Mark Lampert, Lillian LaSalle, Andrew Morrison, Viktória Petrányi and Klaudia Smieja (producers), Daniel Blumberg (composer), William Rexer (cinematographer), Sofía Subercaseaux (editor)
WHAT’S IT ABOUT?
In the 18th century, Ann Lee (Seyfried) invents a strange new religion…
WHAT ARE MY THOUGHTS ON THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE?
It’s one thing to make a movie musical, especially when they’re based on reliable properties like Wicked or Mean Girls, but to make an original movie musical is another, far riskier thing. The last few years alone have seen a number of musical films not based on any pre-existing material crash and burn with critics and audiences, including The End which nobody ultimately cared that much about, and especially Emilia Pérez which quickly became an industry pariah for its divisive handling of delicate subject matter (yet still managed to nab a couple of Oscars from its overly generous 13 nominations, and that’s coming from one of the few people who actually liked the movie).
It’ll be interesting to see how The Testament of Ann Lee fares with those same crowds, for it is arguably a much bigger risk than even Emilia Pérez in terms of what and who it’s about, as well as how it incorporates musical numbers into its narrative. But filmmaker Mona Fastvold, much like her steadfast titular figure, is not so much concerned with pleasing the masses as she is by simply delivering a truly original piece that is predominantly unlike most other musicals of this nature, and Fastvold achieves that goal with something that will no doubt divide people as much, if not more so, than Emilia Pérez, yet remains utterly spellbinding to watch.
The film is split into various chapters chronicling the life of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), a young woman who grew up in 18th century Manchester where, despite her strong devotion to God, she struggles to find a religion that best suits her fierce beliefs. That is, until she attends a Quaker revivalist meeting led by exuberant preacher Jane Wardley (Stacy Martin) where attendees are invited to literally shake their faith out through manic physical and vocal convulsions that provide euphoric physical reaffirmation to the Lord.
Ann Lee quickly becomes not just devoted to this new form of religious expression – soon to be known as the Shaker movement – but also an influential leader of the sect with her prophetic visions leading to a vow of lifelong celibacy among its followers, who soon come to regard her as the female reincarnation of Christ himself. It’s also not long before Ann Lee sets sail to colonial America to further spread her doctrine with her closest acolytes by her side, including her brother William (Lewis Pullman), her husband Abraham (Christopher Abbott) – who’s somewhat understandably a bit miffed about the whole chastity aspect – and Sister Mary (Thomasin McKenzie), the film’s de facto narrator.
If you’re wondering where or even how the musical elements fit into all of this, the term “Shaker” should provide more than just a mere clue. Various sequences of Seyfried’s Ann Lee and her various followers committing to full-body worship are set to numerous pre-existing hymns within the Shaker religion, which have been reconfigured by composer Daniel Blumberg as abstract song-and-dance numbers wherein the performers engage in carefully choreographed routines that require them to move with every possible muscle in their bodies, all while singing as much as their already exhausted lungs will allow them to. These scenes are nothing short of hypnotic, with Fastvold and cinematographer William Rexer applying a surrealist filter to them that show without hesitance or even judgement how this way of life brings Ann Lee and others closer to their faith while allowing them the space, or at least as much as they can in such oppressive times (especially for women who could be swiftly locked up for even daring to stand up against patriarchal systems).
So, it’s not exactly a musical in the traditional sense, but then again very little of The Testament of Ann Lee can be described as “traditional”. This is a highly unconventional film that uses musical storytelling as a window into an odd world of religious expression that, for better or worse, brings people together with rather batty methods of worship (though honestly, the Shaker movement seems fairly normal compared to some of today’s supposedly Christian practises, especially in the US). Fastvold, who along with The Brutalist director Brady Corbet also wrote the screenplay, blends straightforward biographical plotting with energetic absurdism that mythologises the real-life titular figure to a point where, much like the actual Christ she was often likened to, it wouldn’t seem too out of the ordinary if she suddenly walked on water or healed lepers with her full-body convulsions. Meanwhile, Seyfried is giving everything she has to a spellbinding lead performance that conveys her conviction as powerfully as her vocal cords can carry a tune amidst all the shaking-all-about, slightly wobbly Mancunian accent aside.
Will this movie please everyone? It seems silly to even ask that, given its extremely niche subject matter and even more unique method of conveying it, and I suspect it will cause audiences to be split on what it’s actually setting out to do. I can’t blame them, for the film is sometimes slow-moving and perhaps a bit too out-there for its own good, but I’d still say it’s worth experiencing at least once, just so you can witness the madness for yourself and query whether or not you found it to be as holy as Ann Lee and her Shakers perhaps found it to be in their day.
SO, TO SUM UP…
The Testament of Ann Lee is a highly unconventional musical take on the life of the controversial Shaker movement and its titular founder, played excellently by Amanda Seyfried, that may divide audiences but is such an original and unique experience from filmmaker Mona Fastvold that it’s hard to not at least appreciate its pure ambition.
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