Movie Review - The Testament of Ann Lee

Director: Mona Fastvold
Genre: Drama/ Musical
Runtime: 136 minutes
Year: 2026
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, Tim Blake Nelson
 
Description: Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), the founding leader of the Shaker Movement, is proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers. This film depicts her establishment of an utopian society and the Shakers’ worship through song and dance, based on real events.
 
Review: With “The Testament of Ann Lee”, director Mona Fastvold delivers an extremely ambitious, feverish biopic that walks the line between historical drama and avant-garde musical. Although the film is visually stunning and pushes the boundaries of the genre, its emotional depth unfortunately leaves the viewer at a distance.

The film tells the true story of Ann Lee, an 18^th century woman from industrial Manchester. After the traumatic loss of her young children and a troubled marriage, she finds spiritual enlightenment within a radical religious movement. She emerges as the visionary leader of the Shakers, a cult that believes in absolute celibacy, pacifism, and radical gender equality. Her followers even regard her as the female incarnation of Christ. To escape severe persecution, Lee sets sail with her loyal followers to the American colonies to found a utopian community there. Their devotion and the absolution of sins are expressed not through traditional sermons, but in frenzied, ecstatic singing and group dances that border on a physical trance.

The absolute highlight is the way the Shaker hymns are brought to life. And Amanda Seyfried delivers a phenomenal, physically intense performance; her animated gaze and vocals effortlessly carry the film through even the most abstract scene.

Despite these mesmerizing elements, the film falls short dramatically. The film is repetitive, and has an episodic structure. And there is a psychological barrier, because as a viewer we observing Ann Lee, but they never truly dissect her. You admire the craftmanship on screen, but the characters leave you emotionally unmoved. The characters remain underdeveloped. And the 136 minute runtime is very palpable, it’s way too long. And in this time they could have done a lot more with the characters.

“The Testament of Ann Lee” is a daring and visually breathtaking experiment that uniquely turns the biopic formula inside out. However, those hoping for a gripping emotional drama or an in-depth character study may leave this utopian journey feeling somewhat unsatisfied.  As a highly emotional person myself, this movie did very little for me.   

Rating: 3/ 5