Ann Lee, the founding leader of the Shaker Movement, is proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers. This film depicts her establishment of a utopian society and the Shakers’ worship through song and dance, based on real events.

‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ is the latest film from Mona Fastvold, and it tells the story of Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried), a historical religious figure who was the founder of the Shaker movement. It is a story about how a woman came to lead a small religious community in a male dominated period of history, and it spends much of its time focusing on outlining the beliefs of the community (a rejection of marriage, embracing celibacy and communal living). It also touches on their liking for ecstatic and some might say over the top worship, which leads us to the filmmaking approach, as this is nominally a musical, although a musical as much about choreographed dance as it is about song.

It’s fair to say this isn’t really my kind of film, and how much you get out of it will probably depend on your interest in religion generally, and in the history of the Shakers specifically. As a movement it’s hard not to see the contradictions in what they were trying to do (a religious community built around celibacy was always going to struggle to sustain itself), and the film occasionally brushes up against how strange some of those beliefs now seem.

On the positive side, it does have two key selling points. The first is Amanda Seyfried’s excellent central performance, which holds your attention even as the material veers more and more into religious strife. Secondly, there is no doubting the choreography is deeply impressive, particularly a striking sequence on a boat where the Shakers break into one of their ritual dances, capturing the intensity and the communal energy of their worship, and yes, it’s innate weirdness.

That said, parts of the film are undeniably odd, and not always in a way that works. One sequence involving an elderly man running through the woods pointing and singing rather badly is more ridiculous than moving, and there isn’t really anything memorable about the musical numbers – though it should be said, this isn’t remotely trying to be a traditional musical. Ultimately ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ is an interesting curiosity, anchored by a strong lead performance and some inventive staging, but it’s also a film where your patience with its subject matter will likely determine how much it resonates. For me, that patience wore thin fairly quickly.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Mona Fastvold

Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Tim Blake Nelson and Christopher Abbott

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt34819091/