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Amanda Seyfried Stars in Searchlight's The Testament of Ann Lee
- TalkTeaV
- Oct 12
- 2 min read
A musical look at the leader of the Shaker movement
Amanda Seyfried and ensemble in The Testament of Ann Lee. Photo by Searchlight Pictures/William Rexer, courtesy of Searchlight Pictures.
Searchlight Pictures will release The Testament of Ann Lee in theaters on December 25, 2025. The historical musical, directed by Mona Fastvold, revisits the life of Ann Lee, the 18th-century founder of the Shakers, a radical religious community that reshaped early American culture through its beliefs in equality, simplicity, and ecstatic worship.
Amanda Seyfried leads the cast as Lee, joined by Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Tim Blake Nelson, Christopher Abbott, and Stacy Martin. Written by Fastvold and Brady Corbet, the film follows Lee’s journey from working-class Manchester, England, to colonial America, where she established the first Shaker settlement in Watervliet, New York. Through original songs by Academy Award winner Daniel Blumberg, the story transforms the Shakers’ spiritual rituals into striking musical sequences that merge history, music, and mysticism.
Lee, often called "Mother Ann," believed she was the female embodiment of Christ and taught that men and women were spiritual equals. Her followers practiced communal living, celibacy, and nonviolence. Those ideals helped inspire one of America's most distinctive faiths and later influenced the nation's design and craft traditions. Even today, Shaker furniture and the hymn "Simple Gifts" remain symbols of their devotion to simplicity and purpose.
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Fastvold, known for The World to Come, once again teams with Corbet, her collaborator on The Brutalist. At the Toronto International Film Festival, programmer Robyn Citizen described The Testament of Ann Lee as "a fascinating look at a compelling and complex figure," praising Seyfried's performance and William Rexer's cinematography. The film examines not only Lee's visions and faith but also the grief and loss that shaped her theology.
Produced by Andrew Morrison, Joshua Horsfield, Viktória Petrányi, Mona Fastvold, Brady Corbet, and others, the project blends period detail with modern storytelling. Through Lee's life, it considers how ideas of equality, creativity, and devotion can challenge the norms of any era.
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