Daniel Day-Lewis returns for a rare screen appearance in Anemone, an introspective drama co-written by his son Ronan Day-Lewis and directed by him for the first time. The project casts a melancholic mood around a man wrestling with past actions, memory, and forgiveness, and it leans into a slow, cinematic rhythm.
Family, distance, and the road back
Sean Bean plays Jem Stoker, who travels to a remote countryside house to repair a rift with his brother Ray, who has lived in isolation for years. Ray is a father by a relationship with Nessa, a 911 operator played by Samantha Morton, and Jem has taken on a stepfather’s role to Brian, the son Ray left behind. The tension centers on whether Ray can reconnect with the family and accept responsibility.
Voice as a window into guilt
Ray speaks in long, revealing monologues that expose a lifetime of guilt. He recalls a violent act from his days in the Troubles: a mercy killing that lands him a dishonorable discharge and a persistent sense of horror. The performance underscores a man who would rather narrate his pain than confront it directly.
Images that stand in for inner weather
A bright, uncanny water-horse figure appears near the river, growing into a grotesque reflection of Ray’s guilt and lost innocence. The creature invites multiple readings about how trauma manifest inside the self, and the film uses surreal imagery to render that inner weather.
A storm and a fragile return
In a later sequence, a hailstorm of biblical proportions interrupts the characters’ routines and pushes Ray toward rejoining his family. The ending offers a quiet, unresolved note: Ray and Brian stand on a doorstep, and the future of his place in the family is left to their choice rather than a tidy verdict.
Craft and reception
Critics have mixed feelings about Anemone’s ambitions. The photography by Ben Fordesman and the murky, enveloping score by Bobby Krlic set a moody tone, but some viewers find the pacing heavy and the metaphors overbearing. As Ronan Day-Lewis’s debut, the film aims for a visionary, if uneven, exploration of shame.
Focus Features released Anemone in selective theaters before a broader rollout, highlighting the film’s art-house aspirations and star-power in a collaboration anchored by Day-Lewis’s quiet presence.
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