Dallas Film Now.

Amanda Seyfried gives a sterling performance in Mona Fastvold’s respectful drama, with musical interludes. 

Dancing as an expression of faith?

The opening sequence in The Testament of Ann Lee is a swirling, dazzling exhibition of intricate dance moves — or ‘shaking’ — in a wooded clearing. More than anything, though, it’s an expression of faith, a faith held by Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) and her relatively small group of 18th-century followers, who became known as the Shakers. 

Directed by Mona Fastvold (The Sleepwalker, 2014, and The World to Come, 2021), who wrote the screenplay with Brady Corbet, with whom she collaborated on the scripts for The Sleepwalker and the Corbet-directed The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux, and The Brutalist, the film fits well with her other work, in that it’s precise and respectful of the characters, even when they are the victims of devastating events. 

In the case of Ann Lee, she suffered four miscarriages early in her marriage to Abraham (Christopher Abbot), which led to understandably terrible emotional trauma for her and a stay in a health-care facility that appears quite harsh in its conditions. While there, though, she had a vision that led her down a different spiritual path than she had been taught and believed fervently until that point. 

Avowing celibacy, to the dismay of her husband, equality of the sexes, and worship that is unfettered in its expression of physical ecstacy, she attracts followers who are equally dissatisfied with the strict tenants of the prevailing religion(s) in England at the time. She and her followers travel to America, having a rather miraculous occurrence at sea on their voyage, in search of somewhere where they can worship freely in a land where freedom is guaranteed to all. 

Unless you’re a minority, that is, or hold strong beliefs that are not favored by the majority. Thus begins a heartfelt and empathetic portrait of a religious faith and its many travails in ‘the land of the free.’ 

Rigorously replicated and taking full advantage of the big-screen experience, The Testament of Ann Lee is often mesmerizing in its sincere depiction of faith and persecution, and the joy that Ann Lee and her followers sought. As respectful as it is, it is also inherently distant, unless the viewer shares the strongly-expressed beliefs that are part and parcel of Ann Lee’s character and the film itself. 

Thus, the film is one to be admired and respected, with a minimum of emotional investment in the characters and the poignant fate that befalls them. Maybe that’s what they would have wanted, anyway. 

The film is now playing in select area theaters. For locations and showtimes, visit the official site.