When Amanda Seyfried first read the script for The Testament of Ann Lee, she likely didn’t anticipate just how much the film would demand of her—both physically and emotionally. Now, with the movie’s release on December 25, 2025, and a pair of Golden Globe nominations under her belt, Seyfried’s transformative performance as Mother Ann Lee, the enigmatic leader of the Shaker Movement, is drawing widespread attention and sparking conversations about faith, community, and the power of conviction.
Directed by Mona Fastvold and co-written with Brady Corbet, The Testament of Ann Lee dives headfirst into the origins of the Shaker Movement, a religious sect that emerged in the 18th century. Seyfried’s portrayal of Ann Lee is at the film’s heart, capturing the fervor and struggle of a woman who believed herself to be a female representation of God. The Shakers, known for their ecstatic musical worship—complete with singing, energetic dancing, and flailing movement—are depicted with an intensity that mirrors the real-life devotion of their founder and followers.
The film boasts an impressive supporting cast, including Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson, Stacy Martin, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Viola Prettejohn, David Cale, and Jamie Bogyo. Its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2025, was followed by a screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, where it quickly became one of the hottest tickets and an awards season contender, as reported by the Toronto Star.
For those eager to experience the film in all its grandeur, select theaters are offering a special 70mm cut. Critics have not been shy in their praise—or their bewilderment. As Guy Lodge of Variety quipped, those who thought of Shakerism merely as a source of elegant furniture have “much to learn from The Testament of Ann Lee, and a bit to unlearn too.” He notes the film’s dynamic oscillation between “intrepid New World epic and expressionistic musical,” highlighting its ambitious scope.
Amanda Seyfried’s commitment to the role is evident not just in her performance, but in the year-long training she undertook to master the physically demanding choreography. In an interview with NPR’s Morning Edition, Seyfried reflected, “Anybody who’s been to a club knows what it feels like to be alive through movement. I think that’s why the community really thrived, because they were connecting to each other as much as through their higher power.” The Shakers’ worship was a spectacle of joy and abandon, and Seyfried’s embodiment of Ann Lee’s spiritual ecstasy has been described as “mesmerizing” by AV Club’s Caroline Slede.
But the film isn’t simply a celebration of religious fervor—it’s also a meditation on the costs of conviction. Ann Lee’s philosophy, rooted in pacifism, gender and racial equality, and celibacy (even for married couples), was a tough sell in the midst of the American Revolution. Seyfried explained, “She didn’t make sense to people, and she never tried to fit in.” Both sides of the conflict expected the Shakers to join their cause, but Ann Lee refused, determined to keep her community focused on sanctuary and spiritual purity rather than politics. “What happens when you feel that it’s harmful to take a side?” Seyfried pondered. “What happens when you just want to keep creating sanctuary for people? Why do you have to pick a side? She challenged that.”
This tension is not lost on critics. Alissa Wilkinson of The New York Times observed that while many films about historical figures keep the audience at arm’s length, The Testament of Ann Lee “is relentlessly interior, unceasingly convinced of its protagonist’s trustworthiness.” Rather than analyzing or educating, the film seeks to immerse viewers in Ann Lee’s ecstatic experience. Siddhant Aldhaka of IGN called it a “musical biopic fittingly composed of religious ballads,” tracing Ann’s journey from Manchester to New York and mythologizing her unusual beliefs about celibacy, which he described as having “altruistic ends.”
The film’s ambition is undeniable. Stephanie Zacharek of Time Magazine remarked, “How much do ambition and chutzpah count in filmmaking these days? The Testament of Ann Lee is, for better or worse, like no other movie you’ve seen.” She acknowledged the film’s challenging conceit—a musical about a celibate religious leader seeking a Utopian society—but argued that its refusal to spoon-feed the audience is precisely what makes it so compelling.
Jocelyn Noveck of the Associated Press noted the creative partnership between Fastvold and Corbet, calling the film “a stirring and, yes, difficult movie that features a blazing Amanda Seyfried as the Shaker leader. It’s a performance that will knock your 18th-century socks off.” The film’s production values, particularly its use of 70mm film, have also been widely praised, with Bilge Abiri of Vulture declaring it “one of the strangest musicals ever made,” yet one that seeks to “immerse us in the sensibility of its distant era.”
For Seyfried, the story’s relevance extends beyond its historical setting. “Weird rules or not, it was based in love and support and belonging and lifting everybody up,” she told NPR. “It’s just so simple an idea, and it’s how so many of us want to operate in the world.” Her performance has already earned her a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a musical or comedy, one of two nominations she received this year (the other for her role in Long Bright River), with the awards ceremony set for January 11, 2026.
Of course, Seyfried’s 2025 has been anything but quiet. In addition to The Testament of Ann Lee, she starred in the psychological thriller The Housemaid alongside Sydney Sweeney. “I came home finally from a red eye, and I slept for, I want to say, like, 30 hours,” Seyfried joked to NPR. “I clearly needed it. And now my back hurts. I’m 40, so that’s okay.” She credits the physicality of her role as Ann Lee with contributing to her exhaustion, but also to her sense of accomplishment.
The film’s reception has been as varied and intense as its subject matter. David Rooney of The Hollywood Reporter praised Fastvold and Corbet for never playing it safe, calling the movie “a speculative account of the life of the 18th century religious leader who founded the Shakers and was falsely accused of treason, witchcraft and whatever else the Congregationalist establishment of New England could throw at her.” Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian likened the film’s tone to a “Lars von Trier nightmare of ironised martyrdom” combined with the spectacle of a Broadway musical, while Alexander Mooney of Slant Magazine described it as “tremulous, tricky, and intrepid, much like its pious protagonist.”
As audiences flock to limited screenings and critics debate its legacy, one thing is clear: The Testament of Ann Lee is not your typical historical biopic. With its bold blend of music, movement, and mysticism, and a central performance that refuses to be forgotten, it offers a window into a world where faith and artistry collide—reminding us, perhaps, that history’s most radical ideas often come wrapped in the strangest packages.
