Review of The Testament of Ann Lee, directed by Mona Fastvold

If you’re new here, and stumbled upon this blog through the mythical powers of the Internet, welcome! I know a lot of visitors to my website are people who randomly come upon this website through search engines like Google, but I also do have a lot of visitors who come back. Regardless: my name is Ashley, and I started this blog in order to keep track of everything I’m coming across in the world.

I feel like a lot of my blog introductions, especially when it comes to movies, have been lamenting on the fact I don’t have a ton of time lately. I used to work as a film critic (which, in fact, was so incredibly underpaid that I now make more off of this blog’s display ads than I ever did publishing anywhere else), and then when I was in graduate school I was writing a lot about film, so I used to watch so many movies.

But now I work an 8-5, come home, and then doom scroll my evenings away instead of watching the movies I used to love so dearly. And recently I realized I want to stop doing that, so I’ve set limits on my phone and am fully prepared to sit back and watch more movies and read more books in order to feed my brain.

The Testament of Ann Lee was actually one of the movies I wanted to see in theaters, but did not get the chance to do so. My local theater only had some one-off showtimes that didn’t work with my schedule. I guess my local audience really wasn’t into this one?

I had to wait until I had access to a Hulu subscription to watch the movie. But as soon as I realized this movie was available on there, I decided to sit down and watch it one quiet night where I didn’t have anything else to do.

Let’s get into the review! I can see this introduction getting a little long.

The story of Ann Lee, told in music, and how she helped form and found the religious Shaker group.

This movie is broken up into segments, with each one representing a different period of Ann’s life. However, the movie is told in chronological order, making it pretty easy to follow outside some of the frantic, frenzied musical numbers as the Shakers interpret their faith and visions.

The film opens in 1736, when Ann is born. She was raised in Manchester with her brother William, and they work at the cotton factory in town. When she sees her parents having sex one night, she decides it’s an act of sin, becoming something that sticks with her as she grows older.

When she’s with her brother and their niece, Nancy, when they go to the home of two former Quakers. It’s there they’re told the Second coming will be a woman, and they see how the people in this house confess sin publicly and use dance and song as an aspect of their faith. Ann continues going back to this group and ends up marrying a man there: Abraham.

However, her husband’s fetishes and sexual interests lead to more disgust on her end around the act of sex. She also loses all four children they conceive together, leading to even more complicated feelings around it on Ann’s end. Eventually, though, the Shakers end up catching the locals’ attention and not in a good way.

After interrupting a local church service Ann is arrested for two weeks. During her time in jail she refuses to eat or drink anything, and she has visions of herself levitating along with Adam and Eve. She interprets these visions as a sign that the original sin was having sex, and that people shouldn’t get married and abstain. Upon leaving jail, she shares this with the other Shakers, who determine she is the new Messiah.

Her brother ends his gay relationship and decides to support her until the end. After being attacked by a crowd, they decide to go to New England with the funds of a wealthy farmer. It’s during that sea voyage that her niece falls for the farmer’s son, and Ann continues rallying her group to have faith. They arrive in New York City and Ann immediately sends her brother and men north to find their community.

The farmer has a vision that leads them to a meadow, which becomes the Shakers’ community. But in the time when they were gone, Nancy leaves the community and marries the son. Ann’s own husband then leaves her and has sex with another woman in front of her, leaving Ann disgusted with the man she once knew.

The settlement begins development, and William begins preaching at other communities. Other converts begin joining them, and we see how the Shakers build their own cultural and architectural styles. During the Revolutionary War they remain neutral due to their faith, leading to Ann being arrested, but upon her release she goes back to preaching and traveling.

It’s during one of those sessions she’s attacked with her followers. Her brother is fatally injured, and Ann is also badly injured. He dies on the way home, and Ann, who never recovers, passes away a year later. Her faith continued on for centuries, although only two Shakers remained in 2025.

Overall Thoughts

I didn’t know what to really expect coming into this movie, but I thought The Testament of Ann Lee does a tasteful job of telling her story. Granted, I have this disclaimer: I did not know much of Ann Lee’s life going into this, so I can’t speak for accuracy.

However, from a cinematic sense, this is a biopic that balances the religious elements and music in a way that feels very intentional. It also doesn’t feel like it has an agenda, which is what I prefer from a movie that deals with religion in this sense.

Amanda Seyfried is the very clear standout for me as well. She does such a good job portraying this character, who is dedicated to her faith and also broken in so many different ways. In an alternate universe, if things were different, Ann Lee wouldn’t have followed the path she did.

Go see this one if you have the chance. I think it’s worth watching at least once!

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