INTRODUCTION
This is a quick review of the newly released film Anemone. Please note that this is just one of the many movies I will have watched each year, and my initial grade for this film may change over time, for better or worse. To stay up to date on my thoughts about other movies and any potential changes in my opinion on this one, follow me on Letterboxd.
If you enjoy these reviews, I’d greatly appreciate it if you could share this newsletter with family and friends who might love receiving film reviews, classic movie lists, and Oscars projections straight to their inbox.
PLOT
Via Letterboxd: Exploring the complex and profound ties that exist between brothers, fathers, and sons.
REVIEW
In 2017, after delivering a career-defining performance in what I consider the greatest film of my lifetime, Phantom Thread, Daniel Day-Lewis, often called the Babe Ruth of acting, announced his retirement. Cinephiles mourned the loss, but we moved on, revisiting his legendary roles and accepting that the GOAT had hung it up.
Then came the earth-shattering news that his son, Ronan Day-Lewis, would be directing his first feature, Anemone, and had convinced his father to come out of retirement to star in it. Daniel later clarified he never saw himself as “retired,” but whatever the semantics, his return carried the same weight as Michael Jordan’s iconic two-word press release when he merely stated, “I’m back.”
Securing your three-time Oscar-winning father for your debut film is staggering enough, impressive to the point that even my more casual moviegoing wife insisted on coming along with me to witness his return. But Ronan’s cast goes further, bringing in veterans like Sean Bean and Samantha Morton, with Focus Features handling distribution. So on opening night, I headed to my local theatre with genuine excitement, ready to see what the return of perhaps the greatest screen actor alive had in store.
Let me just say, if you’re coming to see the GOAT back at work, you won’t be disappointed. Daniel Day-Lewis delivers yet another, almost casually for him by now, tour de force performance as the thorny, aggressive, and deeply traumatized Ray Stoker. The film leans heavily on monologues, but Day-Lewis shows no rust, fully embodying a character whose very first words I found myself eagerly awaiting. He moves with seamless nuance between menace, teetering on the edge of explosion, and vulnerability, breaking down in sobs over past ghosts while sitting beside his estranged brother on a hillside.
The supporting cast is strong, with Sean Bean as Ray’s brother and Samantha Morton as a complicated part of their brotherhood standing out; but make no mistake that this is Day-Lewis’s acting show. The film seems almost self-aware of his long-awaited return, pausing more than once to just let him do what he does best.
On the technical side, debut director Ronan Day-Lewis proves he has a sharp eye for visual storytelling. Several wordless sequences command attention, including a tense early moment when Ray grabs an ax after noticing an unexpected visitor at his cabin in the middle of the woods. The cinematography is gorgeous, worthy of my personal year-end ballot, and the score is striking, among the better ones I’ve heard this year. These elements left me curious and hopeful for Ronan’s future, as he clearly has the potential to deliver something special beyond his father’s shadow.
But the key phrase is “potential.” For as powerful as the visuals and many of Day-Lewis’s monologues are, the film stumbles under typical first-time-director pitfalls including indulgent artistic flourishes that feel pretentious, too many speeches, and scenes that linger well past their natural endpoint.
At its core, Anemone is a deceptively simple story about an estranged family member who abandoned the “real world,” forced to confront his demons and return home. It ends on a note I suspect will satisfy most audiences, but the pacing and excess make it a tough sell outside of hardcore cinephile circles.
Overall, I liked Anemone but felt frustrated by how often it got in the way of its own greatness. Seeing Daniel Day-Lewis back was a thrill, he may even crack my personal lead acting ballot, and Ronan shows flashes of real talent that I hope he builds on in future projects. For now, though, I’m mixed-to-positive. DDL’s return and Ronan’s promise get an A, but the film itself lands on the softer side of a B-.
“TL;DR”
Pros: Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t miss a step and puts in another tour-de-force performance; Amazing visual storytelling thanks to great cinematography and dazzling visuals which left me hopeful for debut director Ronan Day-Lewis’ future projects
Cons: Some rookie mistakes by debut director Ronan Day-Lewis needlessly holds the film back from being a tighter and more wide appealing final cut; Film is overloaded with a little too many monologues
GRADING
