Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers.
At its core, Mona Fastvold’s (co-writer of 2024’s “The Brutalist”) new film, “The Testament of Ann Lee,” focuses on the eponymous character’s struggle for purity and acceptance in a rotten world. The film begins with the birth of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) under the shadow of Christchurch, Manchester. To Ann, the shadow of Christchurch exemplifies everything she sees as wrong with the world, including sodomy, patriarchy and violence. When an opportunity arises to establish a colony in New England, Ann Lee and her followers make a harrowing journey across the Atlantic in search of a place free from the Church’s influence.
The Shakers, also known as the “Shaking Quakers,” believe that true religion comes from internal experience. This belief resonates with Ann and she decides to join, along with her brother William (Lewis Pullman) and best friend Mary (Thomasin Mackenzie).
Several sequences illustrate what this belief truly means. Early in the film, the congregation confesses their sins to physically feel God’s love. Once they do, members appear to experience the divine presence within themselves, expelling animalistic cries from deep inside.
Ann’s husband, Abraham (Christopher Abbott), represents her tension with and revulsion toward the oppressive forces of patriarchy. Feeling it is her obligation, Ann gives birth to four children, all of whom die before the age of five.
In Ann’s assessment, the exploitative sexual acts her husband forces her to endure are the cause of her suffering and abstinence becomes the core tenet of Ann’s church. She seeks to free her congregation from the pain she experienced herself. Abstinence is not framed as a moral imperative but as a protective measure against the inherent sinfulness and depravity of human nature. Ann’s quest is not one of condemnation, but of salvation.
Once established in upstate New York at a site called Niskayuna, the Shakers built a life for themselves in the secluded wilderness. In the compound’s sanctuary, a tapestry hangs on the far wall depicting a deciduous tree with long, spindly roots and branches. The image, which is the symbol of the Wardley Society from which the Shakers originate, represents Ann’s church. The roots symbolize resistance to the oppressive Church of England, the trunk reflects the unity of the original founding group and the branches represent each member. In the canopy, every person has their place, just as the Shakers carve out their place in New England.
The film’s most inspiring moments stem from Ann Lee’s refusal to be complicit in violence. Her life is marked by violent struggle in nearly every form, leading her to reject it entirely. Her mother was the victim of sexual violence while a young Ann slept nearby. Ann’s public resistance to the Church’s prohibition of female priests lands her in jail. Her husband exploits and abuses her.
After sustaining injuries during a raid prompted by accusations of witchcraft, violence becomes the cause of her death. The violence is inescapable, but Ann Lee creates a space free from it, where individuals feel safe and accepted. Her final words capture the ethos of her vision: “A place for everything and everything in its place.”