The Testament of Ann Lee (2025)
Directed by Mona Fastvold
[Rated R] 2hr 17min
★★★
The Testament of Ann Lee is a historical musical drama about the life of Ann Lee and the development of the Shaker religion as it spread throughout New England in the late 18th century. It primarily focuses on her experiences in England that led to the creation of the new religion and the early stages of its presence in America.
This is a fascinating film that works better as a history lesson than as an artistic narrative. Like many biopics, this movie struggles to tell a compelling story through its historical elements because it’s unable to deviate much from recorded history without misrepresenting it. As a result, the narrative feels quite hollow and doesn’t amount to much due to it’s lack of thematic impact. However, Amanda Seyfried provides a strong emotional core of the film with her incredible performance as Ann Lee, and the musical numbers are all greatly affecting with beautiful vocals and passionate choreography. Despite these exceptional aspects, the narrative is unable to sustain this emotion throughout the rest of the film, so it ends up falling a bit flat by the end. Overall, it’s still a great representation of the history of the Shakers and Ann Lee, as it’s presented through excellent acting, music, and cinematography, and it does contain a lot of historical value.
It’s also important to note the significance of Ann Lee and the Shakers to the history of Harvard. Our town is briefly referenced a few times in the film as one of the locations where Ann Lee brought her religion. As such, the Harvard Shaker Village and Holy Hill are some of the areas where these Shakers lived and worshiped, and some of our roads have been named after them such as Shaker Road and Ann Lee Road. Some of the buildings there are also similar to the ones seen in the film as well, like the Meeting House with its separate entrances for men and women. As a result, it’s very fascinating to see how these places in Harvard would have been used back when the Shakers were here.
I recommend The Testament of Ann Lee to anyone interested in learning more about a significant historical figure and her religious movement that was important to the history of Harvard. Despite its lackluster narrative, the film is held together with amazing performances that are still worth watching, and the overall presentation of the story is fantastic.
The Testament of Ann Lee is now playing in theaters. Click here to watch the Official Trailer.
– Review by Will Hopper