This is one of those powerhouse dramas that combines a musicalelement within a historical context with the dramatizations being quite thorough. Directed by Mona Fastvold and co-written with Brady Corbet, The Testament of Ann Lee is a mammoth masterpiece. They’ve created a film where movements uproot themselves through songs and dance and where leaders find themselves to have a proven purpose. It feels like a serious play but then revitalizes itself through the choreography and the musical moments. The Testament of Ann Lee is shockingly astounding. I went in with mixed expectations, but then the politics of historical colonies came together, and blew me out of the water. 

The film’s main character is Ann Lee, played by Amanda Seyfried. She is the founding leader of the Shaker Movementand is labeled by her supporters as the renowned female Christ. The film focuses on building the foundation for a society that strives to be utopian. There are back and forth motions involving segregation and other politics, and it is all about how Ann leads the way. She is the power and force behind changes to come.

The late 1700s was a time where using one’s voice had the most promising efforts for change, especially in an era where females struggled to get leadership opportunity. This all comes through in the frustration vibe apparent in the music and the dancing. With Seyfried’s performance, there is a high-level of encouragement that will wow audiences. Gender equality is the driving force of the fight. She finds herself with those who support her and those who do not, but what matters is what Ann wants. She wants her vision of the incipient utopia to have a solid foundation.

The film has elements surrounding spiritual leadership, yet also has a theatrical feel in the Shakespearean sense. The feel comes with the many settings around a historical London backdrop and a society portrayed in the era of evolving castles. New beginnings do not come easy, but it takes one voice to make a change. The Testament of Ann Lee paints the portrait to encourage those to stand their ground.

A term that is used frequently in the film is, “Divine manifestations,” and I will say I felt that aspect throughout the trial and error of Seyfried’s performance. It was especially apparent in her dealing with tragedies and her overcoming those hardship moments. That is where the growth of her voice stumbles, only to become bigger. The Testament of Ann Lee is a spellbinding tale of falling and getting back up repeatedly. The direction of Fastvold does not hold back from greatness in an era with no technological advancements. The Testament of Ann Lee is by far a true and poetic portrait of surrealism and one standing her ground. Musically and cinematically a spectacle, there is nothing like The Testament of Ann Lee. There may be times when superiors want to hold Ann back, but that only drives her to be more ambitious. Three-and-a-half out of four stars for The Testament of Ann Lee.