The Next Best Picture Podcast "The Testament Of Ann Lee"
Jan 24, 2026
Megan Leshinsky, a sharp film critic, breaks down Mona Fastvold’s period drama. She highlights Amanda Seyfried’s career-best lead and raves about the haunting modernized hymns by Daniel Blumberg. They discuss jaw-dropping cinematography, choreography as ecstatic expression, and debates about pacing, compressed third-act structure, and missed character introspection.
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Trauma Fuels Charisma, Limits Sustainability
- Fastvold and Corbet treat Ann Lee's movement as both charismatic and unsustainable due to celibacy rules.
- The film interrogates how personal trauma can birth religious reform that lacks long-term viability.
Cutting Crescendos Reflects Thematic Denial
- The film cuts hymns mid-crescendo, denying resolution and mirroring ascetic deprivation thematically.
- That musical editing communicates inner turmoil without explicit character introspection.
Let Hymns Convey Inner Truths
- Use authentic hymns and simple repetitive lyrics to evoke genuine religious feeling.
- Let music and movement reveal character interiority rather than explicit lyric exposition.