Each award season brings frustration as a film that one loves (for any reason) doesn’t make it onto the short list — it gets snubbed. In a sea of talented performances, gifted crew, and dazzling creative leadership, there’s always going to be at least one film that can’t quite get the support it needs and, in 2025, one such title is director Mona Fastvold’s The Testament of Ann Lee (2025), a musical drama adapting the tale of Shaker leader Ann Lee with Amanda Seyfried (Mean Girls; Jennifer’s Body) as Lee. Coupled with rousing performances, stirring songs, and beautiful cinematography, The Testament of Ann Lee deserves to be in the discussion of top films of 2025 despite being lost in the proverbial sea. Now, however, it has the chance to be discovered by new viewers and re-explored by returning visitors as Fastvold’s tale is available on digital with a 22-minute behind-the-scenes exploratory featurette.
Born in Manchester, England, in 1736, Ann Lee (Seyfried) grows up a pious woman in her community. When she meets members of the Quaker movement, she is so taken with their perspective and musical rituals that she and her brother William (Louis Pullman) join them. As the Quakers, known colloquially as the Shaking Quakers or “Shakers” for their full-body dancing, find themselves at odds with local faith groups and law enforcement, they eventually move to New England in the United States. However, despite preaching equality and social justice, trouble follows them wherever they go.
The following home release review is based on a digital edition retail copy provided by Searchlight Pictures. Additionally, because this review is based on a digital edition, there will be no discussion of technical elements as it relates to bitrate or disc size as these cannot be commented on with first-hand experience.
There’s a massive gripe about this release and it bears addressing first. The release for The Testament of Ann Lee appears to be digital only. This is a step above Nightbitch (2024) which went from theaters to streaming and is otherwise inaccessible without Hulu/Disney+, but it’s not much better. As a cinephile and fan of film preservation, even a DVD release for a title is better than no physical formats because that leaves the fate of the film in the hands of the studio to determine when and how someone can access the film. This is entirely a place of privilege born out of growing up in the birth and boom of the home entertainment industry, but it’s also a concern toward films disappearing as a result of their only post-theatrical (if at all) accessibility being online only. It only takes a single error to have it be wiped from existence and lost forever. (See: Disney’s removal of digital series and films their services).
At least with the digital edition, we’ve given a chance to explore the film through the 22-minute “The Testament of Ann Lee: A Special Look.” With input from Fastvold (The Brutalist), co-writer Brady Corbet (The Brutalist), cast members Seyfried, Lewis Pullman (Top Gun: Maverick), and Tim Blake Nelson (O Brother, Where Art Thou?), as well as cinematographer William Rexer (Movie 43; The Family McMullen), production designer Sam Bader (#Like), costume designer Małgorzata Karpiuk (The Zone of Interest), composer Daniel Blumberg (The Brutalist), and choreographer Celia Rowlson-Hall (Smile 2; The Plague), audiences are walked through the making of The Testament of Ann Lee as much as one can be within the runtime. We learn about the origins of the project from Fastvold, a bit of the background on Ann Lee herself, and the collaborative writing process (pointing out Ann Lee’s hopefulness compared to The Brutalist’s (2024) darkness). Among the many fascinating details shared, one of the most informative is Fastvold’s discussion of the appropriation of the Shaker faith and trying to be as serious as possible, making sure that their musical aspect and full-bodied devotionals are presented without denigration. This decision, coupled with the choice to use Ann Lee’s four failed births as a significant cause for her religious philosophy, created the opportunity to craft a film that’s shot almost entirely as if it’s a religious painting come to life; meaning that everything from the production design, costumes, cinematography, song, and more are anchored in the faith. It explains the absolutely cohesive tale from script to performance to technical craft. In the early part of the featurette, the story is described as mythic and every bit of the work that went into Ann Lee conveys this, resulting in a cinematic experience that not only draws you in but holds you tight all the way to its tragic conclusion.
There are, of course, the usual tidbits within the featurette for fans of the technical portions of filmmaking, highlighting all the craftsmanship that went into the creation of Ann Lee (such as the discussion of ensuring that the actors sounded like people and not professionals or the lengths Karpiuk went to in making the costumes authentic and on-budget). If you are among those who loved The Testament of Ann Lee, this featurette will answer a great deal of questions you may have. That said, do keep in mind that “A Special Look” was previously made available online in January when it aired on ABC as a special presentation. So, if you’ve watched it already, there’s not much new. Admittedly, that version is 22:11 minutes in length vs. 21:40, so something has been cut for the digital edition home release.
In the featurette, Seyfried refers to the compound Ann Lee makes in New England as a utopia. She does so because everything there is in balance — men and women working together in harmony, cultivating the earth for what they need, and making for themselves all the things they need. But the concept of a utopia is an impossibility as the term can be translated to mean “nowhere.” This is a pessimistic view of the term, of course, but it applies when one considers the lengths humanity will go in order to create strife and conflict out of the discomfort of someone else’s ideas. As described in the film, the Shakers believe that the messiah will return as a woman in the belief that if G-d created humanity in their image, then, with Joshua Bar Joseph having been born a man, the next would be a woman in order to present equity. From here, the Shakers divine a world separate from physical need, something which clashes with the secular world or just the general belief held by misogynists of any faith that women exist for men’s pleasure. Even if one acknowledges that it’s hard for a religious sect to proclaim abstinence and maintain membership without constantly recruiting, there’s something pure and freeing about seeking a life removed from all the things in the world that can be used to control others (especially given society’s propensity to develop hypocritical rules in order to maintain power). Presented within the film and explored in the featurette is how Ann Lee responded to all violent and/or cruel acts with kindness and, frankly, the world doesn’t take kindly to someone whose responses are unexpected and, therefore, reflect the worst parts of ourselves back to us. A person who acts on violent impulses driven by fear cannot understand someone who doesn’t react with violence which only amplifies their fear. Considering that Fastvold was drawing from religious imagery in all aspects of the production, one cannot remove the correlation between one crucifixion and the attempted violation of another supposed messiah. Because of this, The Testament of Ann Lee lingers as it posits a world that could be through actual equitable systems, which would markedly improve most aspects of life (even if one wouldn’t take on the principles or tenants themselves) than the faiths in power today, which continue to subjugate based on gender or gender expression, isolate neighbor from neighbor, and wield the words of their faith as a conjugal for control rather than a cloth to comfort.
L-R: Co-writer/director Mona Fastvold with actor Amanda Seyfried, cast and crew on the set of THE TESTAMENT OF ANN LEE. Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2025 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
Having been listening to a live edition of Clothed By The Sun, recorded by Seyfried and Blumberg since first viewing The Testament of Ann Lee in December, there’s not been a moment in which this song and the rest of the soundtrack and score have not moved me. Whether silly (John’s Running Song) or serious (Hunger & Thirst) or simply emotional (Clothed By The Son), the songs are strong examples of how music is such a powerful means of connecting people, especially in faith. The words and melodies may be inspired by 18th century activities, but they continue to resonant now. The notion of gender equity and social liberation at a time when government is trying to dictate gender expression comes across as radical when it’s perhaps the core message of any faith: be kind, treat others with respect, and do no harm. Even as we observe Fastvold’s recreation of events, the sensation of lessons not yet learned comes to the forefront. As long as we live with hate in our hearts, even the idea of a returned messiah is impossible for said-messiah’s ideals will never be able to flourish.
The Testament of Ann Lee Special Features*:
- The Testament of Ann Lee: A Special Look – Join filmmakers and cast members – including director/co-writer Mona Fastvold and actor Amanda Seyfried – for a behind-the-scenes look at making this original film about compassion, empathy, community and one woman’s charismatic leadership in founding the Shaker movement. Learn details about the research, set design, cinematography, choreography, music and costume design that create the film’s spellbinding and extraordinary look and feel. (21:40)
*Bonus features vary by product and retailer.
Available on digital March 10th, 2026.
Available on Hulu March 31st, 2026.
For more information, head to the official Searchlight Pictures The Testament of Ann Lee webpage.
Final Score: 4.5 out of 5.
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Categories: Films To Watch, Home Release, Home Video, Recommendation, Reviews, streaming
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