The Testament of Ann Lee

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The Testament of Ann Lee

R

2025

2h 17m

Biography

History

Drama

Musical

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86%

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202 Reviews

82%

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100+ Verified Ratings

From award-winning writer-director Mona Fastvold (The World to Come, The Brutalist) comes the extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers. Academy Award nominee Amanda Seyfried stars as the Shaker's irrepressible leader, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers. The Testament of Ann Lee captures the ecstasy and agony of her quest to build a utopia, featuring more than a dozen traditional Shaker hymns reimagined as rapturous movements with choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall (Vox Lux) and original songs & score by Academy Award winner Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist).

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Critics Consensus

Illuminated by Amanda Seyfried's sterling performance, The Testament of Ann Lee accepts The Shakers' founder on her own terms and reaches its own rhapsodic highs as a result.

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Audience Says

The Testament of Ann Lee is an inspired offering, made unforgettable by Seyfried’s undeniably powerful performance, though its deliberate pace may only captivate a niche audience.

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Wenlei Ma

The Nightly (AU)

Mar 5

4/5

A superb performance from Amanda Seyfried, whose Ann Lee is a complex ball of vulnerability, defiance, righteousness and stillness.

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Matthew Singer

Time Out

Mar 3

4/5

Shakerism wasn’t built to last: only three adherents remain. As a monument to the enigma of faith, Fastvold’s film will hopefully prove more sustaining -- God willing.

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Kevin Maher

The Times (UK)

Mar 3

2/5

The film is overwhelmingly self-serious and thus accidentally very Monty Python. So many scenes live just on the verge of unintentional side-splitting comedy.

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Dionar Hidalgo

Algo Más Que Cine

11h

9/10

A feverish, unconventional religious biopic. Mona Fastvold turns Ann Lee’s story into a hypnotic mix of musical ritual, mysticism and epic ambition, anchored by a ferocious Amanda Seyfried performance. Strange, uneven, but undeniably fascinating.

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John Serba

Decider

16h

Ann Lee goes whole-hog and you can’t help but be admired by her dedication – and hypnotized by this most singular of musicals.

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Erick Estrada

Cinegarage

17h

The film is strange, but very easy to watch, very enjoyable to watch. [Full review in Spanish]

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Ellen

Feb 20

The music and choreography are stunning! The first three or four times. Then they become repetitive, and frankly, kind of dull. And the storytelling is very weak. There are so many holes in the first half I dont quite know where to start—well, how about what actually drew Ann to the Shaking Quakers? How did their spiritual practices speak to her life? Seemed totally random to me. And why on Earth did people listen to her? I like Amanda Seyfried, but I wouldnt have followed her to the backyard. Then theres the problem of the voice over narrative. Pretty much always a bad idea, but with a thick and inconsistent accent, just no. And having Sister Mary tell us the story before it was played out robbed the actual scenes of dramatic power. The second half of the movie was very by-the-book. No sec. You want to have sex? Leave the movement. Was this supposed to be a surprise? We need followers. Okay, here are followers. People will hate you? Now well show people hating the Shakers. Im sorry, I just dont think theres much here.

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Susan K

Feb 20

The beginning was long and couldnt understand what was happening most of the time. It caused the movie to long. I loved the second 1/2 of the movie. I knew about the Shakers but learned so much more.

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Shan

Feb 9

It was the same thing over and over and over again. It was hard to find a storyline other than a religious nut being arrested and then they dance and sing. Not for me!

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Wayne

Feb 5

Raw , rare , painful , real .. youll be uncomfortable , but youll gain .. gain a sense of the price for vision , purpose for the suffering that we all face , & endure ..

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Hardtravelinghero

Feb 5

Amazing music and movements as part of a historical biography about someone who just wanted to help people connect with God, but was shunned and treated as a blasphemer.

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David R

Feb 4

The music added to the atmospheric tension in the film. Whether or not the events are factual, the director took enough creative license to make a visually striking film with a few touches of Terrence Malik.

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Mona Fastvold

Director

Amanda Seyfried

Actor

Thomasin McKenzie

Actor

Lewis Pullman

Actor

Stacy Martin

Actor

Matthew Beard

Actor

The Testament of Ann Lee: Extended Preview

7:12

The Testament of Ann Lee: Music Clip - Hunger and Thirst

2:51

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The Testament of Ann Lee: Exclusive Featurette - World Building

3:54

Learning From an 18th Century Feminist Icon

1:22

The Testament of Ann Lee: Trailer 1

1:48

The Testament of Ann Lee: Featurette - Mother Mona

4:10

The Testament of Ann Lee: Featurette - Shooting on Film

1:29

The Testament of Ann Lee: Featurette - Music and Movement

3:11

The Testament of Ann Lee: Teaser Trailer

1:22

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Synopsis

From award-winning writer-director Mona Fastvold (The World to Come, The Brutalist) comes the extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the devotional sect known as the Shakers. Academy Award nominee Amanda Seyfried stars as the Shaker's irrepressible leader, who preached gender and social equality and was revered by her followers. The Testament of Ann Lee captures the ecstasy and agony of her quest to build a utopia, featuring more than a dozen traditional Shaker hymns reimagined as rapturous movements with choreography by Celia Rowlson-Hall (Vox Lux) and original songs & score by Academy Award winner Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist).

Director: Mona Fastvold
Producer: Andrew Morrison, Joshua Horsfield, Viktória Petrányi, Mona Fastvold, Brady Corbet, Gregory Jankilevitsch, Klaudia Śmieja, Lillian LaSalle, Mark Lampert
Screenwriter: Mona Fastvold, Brady Corbet
Distributor: Searchlight Pictures
Production Co: Kaplan Morrison, ArtClass Flms, Proton Cinema, Intake Films, Curious Gremlin, Göta Film AB, Göteborg, Annapurna Pictures, Mizzel Media, Film i Väst, FirstGen Content, Mid March Media, 4 Little Monsters, Carte Blanche
Rating: R (Graphic Nudity|Bloody Images|Sexual Content|Violence)
Genre: Biography, History, Drama, Musical
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Dec 25, 2025, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Mar 10, 2026
Box Office (Gross USA): $2.5M
Runtime: 2h 17m
Sound Mix: Dolby Atmos
Aspect Ratio: Digital 2.39:1

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