TIFF 2025: The Testament of Ann Lee Review

This will be one of many reviews during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, to keep up with our latest coverage, click here.

Coming from Mona Fastvold and Brady Corbet, the super team behind last year’s The Brutalist, The Testament of Ann Lee (directed by Fastvold and written by Fastvold and Corbet) stars Amanda Seyfried as the titular Ann Lee, one of the founding members of the Shaker Movement and a woman proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers. The Shaker Movement is portrayed as a cult-like group who use aggressive song and dance to communicate with God. Communicating through a series of hymns, the Shakers, moving and shrieking accordingly, submit to God in a manner choreographed like a version of ‘Stomp.’ What would start off as a spiritual movement quickly blossoms into something more sinister as Lee, the leader of the Shakers, preached gender and social equality, was admired by her followers who saw her as the female God.

Driven to the movement at a young age following a difficult upbringing, from there, Lee would be met with more tragedy, as she and her husband Abraham (Christopher Abbott) witnessed the death of four of their children. The Testament of Ann Lee portrays the ease of radicalization. In the end, people desire change in the system when it has been cruel to them. Therefore, when audiences see Lee make bad decisions, they empathize with her, considering her situation. While the film features a fair share of poignant moments, others fall victim to its artistic flair getting in the way of the story, making it feel a bit uneven overall.

As a whole, The Testament of Ann Lee certainly has strong elements going for it. The best thing the film has going for it is an incredible performance from Seyfried as Lee. Tackling such a physically demanding role, she does so effortlessly while creating a powerful presence in her wake that is sure to leave an impression on audiences. On a technical level, the film is meticulously crafted, starting with some dazzling cinematography. Shot in 35mm, every frame looks so lush and detailed. Meanwhile, Daniel Blumberg, following his Oscar winning work in The Brutalist, composes another captivating and bombastic musical score that truly brings this larger-than-life film to life.

Getting off to a strong start on a filmmaking level, cementing Fastvold as a top tier talent behind the camera, the film cannot quite keep that momentum going in terms of pacing. A very awkwardly paced and edited film, some sequences either go on for way too long, or are not developed enough. By the end, the magic of its immaculate production wears off, leaving little to invest in on an emotional level. The film gets so enamored by its aesthetic sensibilities, it seemingly forgets to develop its characters in a meaningful way. As a result, the character of Ann Lee becomes difficult to care about, as well as her relationships, as the film itself simply becomes yet another straightforward cautionary tale about corruption that it fails to elaborate on in an impactful way. What it ultimately amounts to is a film that raises several real issues without providing little in the way of solutions to address them. While choosing an ambiguous path sometimes pays off if it is well executed, in this case, the film should have given audiences more to chew on.

Above all else, The Testament of Ann Lee is a mixed bag musical melodrama that, while astounding looking and sounding, beneath the surface lies a hollow core.

still courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

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Brett Schutt

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