Is Anemone good? Maybe. Maybe not. There were moments throughout the film, like a lengthy monologue about pooping on someone, where I was gob smacked (derogatory). I felt taxed numerous times. Not because the film was challenging me with its themes, wounded characters, or difficult conversations, but because it all felt tiresome. Still, there are enough moments to counter the rough patches. Moments of connection that felt earned. Moments that left me gob smacked (complimentary). Is Anemone good? Maybe not. Maybe.
I’m burying the lead here. The most noteworthy thing about Anemone is that it marks Daniel Day-Lewis’ first performance since Phantom Thread in 2017. Not only is he acting, he’s also credited with co-writing the script with his son and the film’s director Ronan Day-Lewis. It’s a family affair behind the camera, so it only makes sense that the movie is similarly intimate.
Day-Lewis and Sean Bean play estranged brothers Ray and Jem. Ray lives alone now and the movie kicks off with Jem heading out for a long overdue reconnection with his brother to work some things out. Between the brothers, Jem’s wife Nessa (Samantha Morton) and adopted son Brian (Samual Bottomley), there are many entanglements and long ago planted familial issues that are blossoming. The family is in need of a reckoning and, by golly, that’s what the Day-Lewises give us.
The film has a tremendous amount of trauma for its characters to work through. I tried writing out some of the issues the script lays out, but I think it’s a disservice to the movie to do that. Listing the trauma out of context makes it easy for people to dunk on it sight unseen. Your mileage will most certainly vary, but your enjoyment or appreciation of the film will depend on how much you enjoy watching great actors work their way through one dour conversation after another. Day-Lewis could do this all day. His intensity anchors some of the film’s best moments, but it also undermines the dead-serious tone whenever the script ventures into dubious territory like the poop business I referenced at the start of this review.
The one aspect of the film I’ll champion unequivocally is Ben Fordesman’s luscious cinematography. Fordesman turned in haunting, vivid work on Rose Glass’ Love Lies Bleeding and Saint Maud, and this feels like a leveling up. The film takes place in cramped rooms and wide-open outdoors spaces, and Fordesman’s images frequently do more to comment on the state of the characters than the script does. I’m thinking of the wind blowing through fields and trees like a wave, capturing something in nature that feels straight out of a Terence Malick film. Whether you find the dialogue-heavy parts of the film effective or not, and I mostly did not, I think the strongest character moments are when Day-Lewis (Roman) goes dialogue free and lets the score boom while characters dance, sit, run along the beach, and just exist in each other’s presence.
I don’t think Anemone is leave a lasting impression, but there are enough in-the-moment pleasures to make it a worthwhile watch. But, coming back to my original question, is Anemone good? I’m not sure.
