Movie Review - The Testament of Ann Lee

I LOVED the trailer for this movie.

It was somewhat creepy - dark images of colonial times with fast clips of odd rhythmic dancing in old barns and such. Screaming. Crying. Fire. Made me figure that this movie would be an off-kilter, unique, emotional story.

7:42●●● 95%

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And I was dead-on right.

The Testament of Ann Lee is an incredibly stylized portrait of Ann Lee, who is credited with being the founding leader of the Shakers' religious sect in the 18th century. They weren’t a cult exactly - more of a Quaker offshoot based on celibacy and communal living - but there is definitely a “David Koresh” vibe shooting through Ann Lee. She claimed divine visions that identified her as the female incarnation of Christ. Their manic way of worshipping - dancing, singing, shouting - made them seem out-of-step to people at the time and caused many to want to shut them down.

What may sound to some viewers like a boring premise is really anything but. This film capitalizes on those worship practices to make things seem very…intense. Everything in those scenes is hyped up and a spectacle to watch. There are multiple songs (half-songs, really - many are Shaker hymns) that add a lot of emotion, some more successfully than others.

And Amanda Seyfried - man, I don’t know where her name was on Oscar nomination morning, but it should have been there. She puts it all out there. I really enjoyed this somewhat twisted take on a real movement, and I’m glad that the director chose to be unique and different, using music and movement to move the story forward, instead of a straight, boring historical telling.

Grade: B+

Plot
The extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers.