The Testament of Ann Lee (M) PRESENTED IN 35MM FILM

The Testament of Ann Lee (M, 2025) Presented in 35mm Film by The Revival House Perth

In 18th century Manchester, Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) grows from a devout factory worker into the founder of the Shakers, a radical religious sect that would come to be known as the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing. Shaped by early trauma, a difficult marriage, and the devastating loss of four infant children, Ann comes to reject sexual intimacy entirely, embracing celibacy as a path to spiritual purity. Believing herself called to lead as the female embodiment of Christ's Second Coming, she gathers a small but devoted following united by ecstatic worship—shaking, singing, and dancing as expressions of divine communion. Facing persecution and imprisonment in England, Ann leads her followers across the Atlantic to America, where they attempt to build a utopian society founded on gender equality, pacifism, and communal living, even as suspicion and hostility follow them to their new home.

Director Mona Fastvold, co-writer of The Brutalist, crafts an unconventional, deeply physical biopic that unfolds less like a traditional historical drama and more like a fever-dream spiritual reckoning. Amanda Seyfried delivers a transformative, widely acclaimed performance, embodying Ann's conviction, vulnerability, and unsettling charisma with total physical commitment. The film is structured around more than a dozen traditional Shaker hymns, reimagined by Academy Award-winning composer Daniel Blumberg into rapturous, dance-driven set pieces choreographed by Celia Rowlson-Hall, transforming worship itself into the film's dominant visual language. Cinematographer William Rexer, drawing inspiration from Caravaggio and Vilhelm Hammershøi, renders both industrial Lancashire and the American frontier with painterly, candlelit intensity. Strong supporting turns from Lewis Pullman, Thomasin McKenzie, and Christopher Abbott ground the film's more transcendent impulses, creating a singular, demanding portrait of faith, sacrifice, and one woman's refusal to be silenced.

Original format and audio experience of this film faithfully reproduced by The Revival House. Presented in 35mm film unless noted otherwise.

When: Saturday, August 29th at 7:30PM
Where: The Revival House at the Como Theatre
Rating: M (Mature themes, violence, sex scenes and nudity)