The Testament Of Ann Lee
Ecstatic historical drama by Mona Fastvold with lots of singing and dancing, about Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), the founder of the Shakers sect. Her followers saw her as the female counterpart of Christ.
Mona Fastvold (The World To Come) offers a fascinating look at a compelling and complex figure. As a founder of the Shaker movement - a religious sect that originated in England in 1747 and organised itself in the United States around 1780 - Ann Lee was one of the most important religious figures in pre-Revolutionary America. Fastvold’s film digs deep into Lee’s story, especially the profound childhood and early adult traumas that impacted her psychology and shaped her influential religious views. Growing up in a large family, Lee was a child seemingly gifted at everything she tried, fiercely protective of her little brother and intensely devoted to her faith. As an adult, she met and married Abraham, a fellow explorer of spirituality and ideas.
Lee’s tragic loss of all her children in infancy or early childhood, along with her radically unique interpretation of scripture, transformed her into a fierce advocate for a more equitable and utopian society. Her beliefs become a policy adopted by her devoted followers, whose frenzied, ecstatic worship – as Fastvold depicts it – almost serves as a communal substitute for sexual activity. The feverish ceremonies are inventively captured in musical numbers and original songs by Daniel Blumberg, sung by Seyfried and cast.