"A film about faith and other leaps, Mona Fastvold's remarkable The Testament of Ann Lee does not ask us to endorse or embrace the tenets of the 18th-century English sect called United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Coming, aka Shaking Quakers, aka the Shakers. Given that an important principle of co-founder Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) was celibacy, many viewers would find that a bridge too far."
"The Testament of Ann Lee is set in a world very different from ours and also not so different, a world of mysteries and dangers where people fear new ideas and are made to fear newcomers. Where superstitions or religious dogma or conspiracy theories are cited to soothe our uncertainty. Perhaps every utopian endeavor is fated to come to an end, whether from internal"
The Testament of Ann Lee portrays the Shakers, an 18th-century English sect whose values include celibacy, cooperation, ecstasy, and gender equality. The narrative follows the sect's 1774 voyage from Manchester to America, where spacious landscapes and natural light replace the Old World's drab confines. The film prioritizes communal dances and entrancing worship over doctrinal endorsement, using movement to convey faith, surrender, and collective belonging. The choreography prevents the story from feeling like a conventional biopic by generating magic without anachronism. The setting frames a society wary of newcomers and new ideas, where superstition and dogma soothe uncertainty.
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