Anemone is a redemptive tale, but slow and dark and haunting, sometimes slipping into fantasy and playing out like a fairytale, and sometimes unfolding like a Greek tragedy. As films go, it’s a triumph.
Ronan Day-Lewis makes a superb debut with this expressively shot and scored tale of familial reconciliation. The cast, led by the great Daniel Day-Lewis, is uniformly spectacular.
Daniel Day-Lewis gives an Oscar worthy, compelling, and magnetic performance. There is lush cinematography and a subversive contemplation on brotherhood and a downward spiral.
Set against the conflict of British Paratroopers and the IRA, in Northern Ireland during the early Troubles, the intensity of the conflict is very well conveyed by the movie. My read of the background - a commanding officer who probably didn’t like his Sergeant, calls an act of mercy a war crime, as an excuse to get rid of the sergeant. The result is a terrible burden inflicted on the proud sergeant and his family for the next 20 years. Don’t believe some of the reviews. This is an excellent movie, focusing on the full impact of that burden. Good cinematography. Good sound. Good script. Very well acted by Day-Lewis, Bean and Morton.
Anemone does a capable job of building up the mystery at its heart, waiting and waiting until the pressure builds before finally giving both audiences and its characters a release valve — primarily through yet another tour-de-force monologue that Daniel Day-Lewis makes a meal out of, as he's done many a time before.
This family endeavour is an acting masterclass, and we should be grateful that it’s lured Daniel Day-Lewis back into acting after eight years in the metaphorical woods.
It’s a transcendent performance, somehow both a miracle and the kiss of death. It is good enough to almost elevate the entire movie above its many awkward shortcomings. And yet it also crystallizes those shortcomings.
I appreciate films that embrace quiet moments and don't necessarily jump from dialogue to dialogue continuously, that said I felt there were many moments where quiet tension felt a bit dragged out. The quiet moments were trying to enhance the visual storytelling (which is shot beautifully, cinematography is great) or emotional tension, but in my opinion the audience can appreciate the visuals, and get a sense of quiet understanding pretty quickly. Given the powerful imagery, I wanted to see more of that and maybe shorter moments but more interwoven angles would have maintained the tension while still offering more information to the audience. That said, I loved the power and pressure of the natural surroundings that the film presented. The verbal storytelling + monologues from the characters were entrancing and felt very genuine. The writing and performances were compelling (as one would expect given the casting). The music score reinforced the interwoven tension as well. Unfortunately, I suspect it is not a drama that all viewers will appreciate but it is undeniably a striking film that I'm grateful to have to experienced; I would encourage anyone who appreciates drama to see it.
Daniel Day-Lewis came out of retirement to star in this film, which he co-wrote with his son Ronan, who also directed. The very thin plot involves a brother (Sean Bean) travelling to the countryside where his brother (Day-Lewis) lives a hermit life after a life-changing event. Meanwhile, the wife and son (Samantha Morton and Samuel Bottomley) deal with the issue back home. This basically involves minimal dialogue with Day-Lewis getting 2 juicy monologues. Otherwise, there’s lots of dull scenery, long slow tracking shots and interminable pauses. This is an extremely self-indulgent project, rendered more so by the sluggish direction and tedious editing. Sure, Day-Lewis wants to support his son in his first feature, but he should have continued to enjoy his retirement instead…certainly more than I enjoyed this experience.
Story line: not good Directing: not good Acting: not good Only to support his son to make money, no interest to share unique experience or story to audiences