Spanning 18th-century England and America, visionary spiritual leader Ann Lee rises from obscurity to forge the radical religious movement that will become the Shakers. Haunted by personal tragedy yet driven by an unshakable belief in gender equality, communal living and ecstatic devotion, she gathers devoted followers who come to see her as the female embodiment of Christ. As persecution intensifies, Ann fights to protect both her followers and the incipient utopia they have begun to create.
Director Mona Fastvold conceived the idea for the film after discovering a Shaker hymn while wrapping her second film, The World to Come (2020).[3] Fastvold stated that the project initially struggled due to "zero interest" from the industry.[4][5]
Casting
Regarding the casting of Amanda Seyfried as Ann Lee, Fastvold stated, "Amanda has a lot of power. She's really strong. She is a wonderful mother. She is a little mad, and so I knew that she could access those things. She could access the kindness, the gentleness, the tenderness, and she could also access this power and this madness."[6]
As Lee birthed four children (all of whom died in infancy), Fastvold sought to depict the births "as real and direct and graphic and unapologetic as possible" using prosthetic vaginas.[3] Filming wrapped in December 2024.[11][12]
Musical numbers
Composer Daniel Blumberg drew from original Shaker hymns to write the music for the film.[6][13] He worked with Fastvold from the pre-production stage to the sound mixing process, describing the film as "one of the most experimental, extreme project[s he has] ever done."[10] The soundtrack also includes three original songs that were written by Blumberg himself.[8]
Regarding her uninhibited singing in the film, Seyfried stated, "A lot of it was animal sounds as opposed to melodic sounds. ... I understood that I didn't have to sound beautiful in a way that is beautiful to me. It was more like a woman on her knees.[14]
The soundtrack details were released on 15 December 2025.[15]
In September 2025, Searchlight Pictures acquired distribution rights to the film in North America and several international territories, setting it for a limited theatrical release on 70mm film in the United States on 25 December 2025.[48][49][50]
Marketing
On 6 November 2025, the first teaser trailer made its online debut.[51]
The first theatrical-release poster was released on 19 November 2025, while a second poster followed on 10 December 2025.
Reception
Critical response
Amanda Seyfried received widespread critical acclaim for her performance, with many lauding it as the best of her career.
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 89% of 62 critics' reviews are positive.The website's consensus reads: "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."[52]Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 77 out of 100, based on 17 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[53]
In their list of "The Best Performances of 2025", The Film Stage ranked Seyfried's performance in the role at No. 10, stating that the actress "seems to direct the camera, guiding it with famously expressive eyes towards gestures untethered to the frame. When she levitates, we join."[54]
In his five-star review for The Irish Times, Donald Clarke described the film as "the stuff of masterpieces" and praised Fastvold for "creating a convincing version of Lancashire torn between industrial modernity and apocalyptic mysticism," adding that in the titular role, "Seyfried is electrifying."[55] Meanwhile, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian rated the film three out of five stars, calling it "a genuinely strange film, elusive in both tone and meaning, one which deploys the obvious effects and rhetorical forms of irony, while at the same time distancing itself from these effects and asking its audience to sympathise with and even admire [Ann] Lee, because she is not supposed to be the villain."[56]Robbie Collin of The Telegraph rated it four out of five stars, calling it "ravishingly staged and thrillingly ambitious" and writing that it "left [him] feeling wobbly and breathless."[57] Rita Di Santo of the Morning Star gave the film a perfect score of 10 out of 10, praising Fastvold for how her "uncompromising storytelling brings Ann’s world to life with visceral intensity" and "serves as a feminist manifesto about women’s conditions in the 16th century, denouncing the hardships of childbirth, violence and abuse against women."[58]
David Ehrlich of IndieWire gave the film a grade of A−, calling it "a speculative, feverish, and altogether rapturous biopic," and declaring that Seyfried "gives the best performance of her career."[59] Guy Lodge of Variety wrote, "As a study of unyielding faith practiced on wholly singular terms, it's raptly respectful and intellectually curious, even if, dramatically, it can pall across the course of a languid 136-minute runtime. But it's as a full-blown song-and-dance affair — about the least likely, biggest-swinging shape Lee's story could have taken — that the film is most stunningly persuasive."[60] Lodge further added that Seyfried is "quite dazzling as Ann, the self-made icon, wielding a poised, peaceable, but controlling authority in scene after scene."[60] Awarding the film five stars, Loud and Clear critic Clotilde Chinnici writes that "Seyfried delivers an award-worthy performance as Ann Lee with her layered portrayal of a complex and fascinating woman."[61] She also commends the film’s technical achievements, noting that "the cinematography and the costumes immediately bring us back to mid-18th-century England, and later in the film, the United States."[61]
Jack Walters of Screen Rant praised Seyfried, calling her performance "career-best" and stating that she "delivers one of the strongest performances of the entire year in this film."[62] Writer and critic Alfred Castaneda echoed this sentiment, writing that "early in the film, it’s clear that this is the best performance of Amanda Seyfried's career."[63] Further praise for her performance came from Adam Nayman of The Ringer, who noted that "Seyfried powers through a performance that earns its instant tour de force reputation and then some."[64]AwardsWatch's Roberto Ruggio awarded the film an A, affirming that "Angelic and fierce at once, Seyfried gives the performance of a lifetime, ferocious, visceral, and vulnerable, making Ann Lee not just a historical figure from the past, but bringing her alive again."[65] Jeff Ewing of Collider affirmed that Ann Lee is "the role Seyfried was born to play," adding that "it's hard to imagine another person as the controversial figure."[66] Bestowing an A+ grade, Cameron Ritter from InSession Film hailed the film as "the movie of the year," calling Seyfried’s performance "breathtaking" and noting that "her singing and emotional range are on full display."[67] Ritter also commended Pullman’s work as William, describing it as his "best performance to date."[67] Kam Ryan of The Rolling Tape writes that Pullman "proves to be the film’s quiet centerpiece," and, in reflecting on Ann and William’s sibling relationship, observes that "his chemistry with Seyfried is a pleasure to watch."[68] Ryan also concludes that "Seyfried’s luminous performance make it a biopic that lingers long after the credits roll and demands to be seen more than once."[68]
Year-end lists
The Testament of Ann Lee has appeared on many critics' annual "best-of" lists in 2025.
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