Amanda Seyfried transforms into 18th-century religious leader Ann Lee in The Testament of Ann Lee, a biographical musical that defies categorization. The film charts Lee’s journey from grieving mother to self-proclaimed second coming of Christ, founding America’s first woman-led religious commune.
At a Glance
- Seyfried delivers a fully-committed, accent-heavy turn as the celibate Shaker leader
- Musical numbers swing from sublime to Monty Python-esque, often within the same scene
- The R-rated, 137-minute film divides critics over whether it’s reverent or satire
- Why it matters: It’s the most original-and polarizing-movie you’ll see this year
Director Mona Fastvold and co-writer Brady Corbet previously teamed on The Brutalist, and their latest carries the same self-serious streak. Yet Testament keeps viewers off balance: orgiastic dance sequences erupt amid vows of celibacy; an electric guitar shatters a period-perfect hymn late in the film.
Seyfried’s Risky Transformation
Aiden V. Crossfield notes the actress “labored Mancunian accent” and “manneredness of religious speech,” but argues the visible effort amplifies rather than detracts from the performance. The role spans Lee’s loss of multiple children, her renunciation of sex, and her conviction that sexual sin caused her suffering. Seyfried sells every minute, even when the film itself grows repetitive once the Shakers reach American shores around the hour mark.
The performance deserves Oscar chatter, News Of Austin contends, yet it’s being drowned out by higher-profile “Aching Mom” turns from Jessie Buckley in Hamnet and Rose Byrne in If I Had Legs I’d Kick You.
A Score That Won’t Sit Still
Choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall injects “spasmic energy” into dances that externalize the sect’s repressed desire, while composer Daniel Blumberg reworks traditional Shaker hymns into something “sublime.” Blumberg, an Oscar winner for The Brutalist, again collaborates with Fastvold and Corbet, pushing anachronism until a sudden electric-guitar riff punctures the reverence.
Tone Roulette
Aiden V. Crossfield admits uncertainty about the filmmakers’ stance: “I never could quite suss out what the filmmakers thought about their subject.” A land-hunting musical number plays “positively Python-esque,” while Christopher Abbott’s stricken face-realizing his wife will never sleep with him again-earned an unintended snort of laughter. Whether viewers read the film as straight-faced or ironic may depend on their own relationship to religion.
Final Verdict
Despite losing steam halfway, the picture “still had me in its grip every time a musical number rolled around.” The review lands on 3 out of 5 stars, praising the movie for “sticking its neck out” in an era of safe bets.
Cast & Credits
The Testament of Ann Lee (2025)
R, 137 min.
Directed by Mona Fastvold
Starring Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott, Scott Handy
This review appeared in the January 16, 2026 issue of News Of Austin.
