Ann Lee’s Testament, more than a film, looks like a painting. And not only because it is a historical work, set in the second half of the eighteenth century, but also because of a photograph that seems to take us inside a period painting. A painting, or rather a portrait, that of Ann Lee: preacher and founder of the Shakers, a kind of religious “sect” that sees in Ann, also known as Mother Ann, the second incarnation of God on earth and that takes its name precisely from the ritual dances with which the faithful pray and celebrate their faith. A true story, played by Amanda Seyfried in the form of a musical, a choice that seems natural when one thinks of the sung prayers and collective choreography that characterized the community founded by Ann.
The film takes the form of a true biography beginning with Ann Lee’s childhood in England; from her revulsion at her parents’ sexual acts, through her entry into an early religious community already devoted to rituals made up of song and dance. Then there is marriage, perhaps the worst fate Ann could have imagined, a union marked by grief and culminating in the loss of four children, all of whom died before they were a year old. It seems logical, then, as we enter Ann Lee’s mind and vision, that one of the pillars of her doctrine would become sexual abstinence and celibacy.
But in Ann Lee’s while there are also visions and otherworldly revelations, and it will be these mystical experiences that will convince her that she has been chosen by God and drive her to preach his message. In England, she is persecuted-which is not surprising considering the historical context and the role of a woman who proclaims herself a spiritual leader-and so she decides to emigrate to America, settling in upstate New York, where, despite the community being confined to an isolated place surrounded by distrust, Ann slowly manages to build a growing group of followers. Overcoming prejudice and hostility, she becomes a mother figure and religious leader for many. The rest of the story, we won’t spoil it for you.
Between ritual dances, period costumes, and an otherworldly performance by Amanda Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee is a film that is most striking in its visual dimension. The cinematography really seems to transform each scene into a pictorial portrait, while sets and atmospheres help build a tale suspended between history and spirituality. Rather than offering definitive answers about the figure of Ann Lee, the film prefers to evoke suggestions, leaving the viewer free to interpret a story as fascinating as it is enigmatic.
[📸 Courtesy of Cristiana Caimmi & Co.]
