There is nothing more boring than a biopic. Too often conceived with fidelity than creativity, they follow generally the same formula of of presenting a historical figure’s life in straightforward fashion hitting the identical beats of birth, early years, and death in exactly the same way. Thankfully THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE bears no resemblance to its bland biopic brethren, despite the focus on the founder of the Shaker movement.
As writer and director of The Brutalist, Mona Fastvold traces Ann’s life from her youth through to her death, however she does so with such verve and wild rhythms the result bears no resemblance to any film I’ve watched. That differentiation is clear from its eerie first dance sequence, choreographed by Celia Rowlson-Hall. For the entirety of its 135 minutes, THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE blurs the border between musical, folk horror, and drama, birthing something entirely new that seems too fragile, too strong, for this world. Its a fevered dream and waking nightmare hovering between solemn and silly, uncanny and vividly realistic.
Set against a colonial background, it features Amanda Seyfried as the star. It takes us through the foundation of the Shakers, condensing 40 years to just over two hours, so while the move from England to the New World is front and centre, it is the crafting of Ann Lee’s persona that’s fascinating. Presumed gifted with religious visions, she is gritty, with core values preceded by a life marked by physical labour and an early aversion to intimacy due to witnessing her parents in the act.
The film’s musical backbone ; hands beating on chests; arms outstretched to the skies; torsos heaving, feet a’stompin’–soundtracked by grunts and wails, an embodiment of a catharsis.
Seyfried’s performance anchores the film. She glows in her rawness, stoicism and commitments to the laws of her beliefs while demonstrating a tenderness and vulnerability. The film’s chapters are narrated by Sister Mary ( Thomasin Mackenzie) serving as a tool for shedding so many decades of context. Fastvold’s direction is reminiscent of a painting, the film presenting numerous beautiful tableaux.
THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE speeds through its largely spare plot to concentrate on the way Ann connects to the divine through dancing and singing, is a rare female church leader, advocating for equality, irrespective of gender or race, exploring female power in a male-dominated world, as well as the connection between the body and soul. Ann experiences religious rapture through song and dance, all the while denying sexual pleasure, embracing celibacy as a key to connecting with G-d.
Composer Daniel Blumberg adapted traditional Shaker songs for the score, sung by characters in the throes of ecstacy. Seyfried’s sweet soprano weaves beautifully with the notes of her fellow faithful. Rowlson-Hall designed dance sequences that feel oddly organic, moving and unsettling, at the same time.
Even for sceptics the film makes for a strangely spiritual experience. The other actors, Lewis Pullman as William Lee and Thomasin Mackenzie as Mary Partington, add the measure of creative imprint. So does Mathew Beard as James Whittaker, Viola Prettejhon as Nancy Lee with Christopher Abbot as Abraham Standerin.
The movie might make one believe that celibate communal living and worshipping would have been easier in the 1780s than today. As it turns out, the Second Coming and extreme shaking while worshipping requires a bit more faith than many possess. Whole lotta a shakin’ goin’ on!
