"The movie looks sometimes like a Lars von Trier nightmare of ironised martyrdom, or a Robert Eggers horror film like The Witch, and then sometimes like a weird but spectacular Broadway musical melodrama, in which the shaking and shivering of the dancing faithful ecstatically submitting to divine joy is shaped into a choreography not unlike the musical Stomp. Atheists and rationalists in the audience might be tempted to ask well what is the testament of Ann Lee exactly?"
"It is a vehement, fervent, striking but sometimes baffling drama about the historical figure of Ann Lee, who endured religious persecution in 18th-century England as leader of the fundamentalist Shaker movement. As the embodiment of Christ's second coming, Lee took her radical message to the New World and in pre-revolutionary America founded an enduring community of souls, persecuted all over again by the new patriarchy for being a woman and a pacifist."
"Her Shakers were known among other things for their skill in stylishly elegant and minimalist furniture although the connection with Christ's profession is unstressed. Lee is played by Amanda Seyfried, with Lewis Pullman as her brother William and Christopher Abbott as her oppressive husband Abraham, who appears to be partial to a bit of BDSM where he gets to be a Christian dom in the marriage bed."
Ann Lee leads the Shaker movement in 18th-century England and the American colonies. She is portrayed as believing she is Christ's second coming and enforces strict celibacy. The Shaker community embraces ecstatic shaking as worship and produces minimalist furniture. The film depicts persecution by religious and patriarchal authorities and explores gender, pacifism, and authoritarianism. Performances include Amanda Seyfried as Lee and Christopher Abbott as an oppressive husband. The film mixes horror, musical choreography, and stark visual style, leaving questions about Lee's modern legacy.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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