If you’re a fan of Daniel Day-Lewis, I am sure you are intrigued by his return to the big screen. In Anenome, a film in which the actor collaborates with his son, Ronan, the actor comes back to the screen with the intense style in which he is known for. In fact, the film has quiet, intense, and magnificent performances by both he and Sean Bean that are highlighted by the starkly beautiful landscape and silence that speaks volumes of emotion. 

Anemone is a psychological drama directed by Ronan Day-Lewis in his directorial debut from a screenplay he wrote with his father, Daniel Day-Lewis. In the film, Jem Stoker (Sean Bean) visits his estranged brother Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) who lives in isolation in the forest after abandoning his family. Jem wants Ray to reunite with his son, Brian (Samuel Bottomly) at the request of Brian’s mother Nessa (Samantha Morton), now Jem’s wife. But Ray has reasons for his isolation and as the brothers interact, Ray’s secrets and pain emerge as Anenome explores the complex and profound ties that exist between brothers, fathers, and sons. 

Anemone begins with a whisper, the story beginning with silence as we are slowly introduced to Jem, Ray, Nessa and Brian. The film is understated and pared back, with details and drama revealed a tiny bit at a time. When the brothers meet, the silence adds to the tension and palpable emotion between the pair, and that same silence heightens the psychological drama as we learn the trauma that drives Ray and the pain he holds onto. The silence heightens the emotional weight of the scenes between Sean Bean and Daniel Day-Lewis. That self-same silence is also weighted between Brian and Nessa as Brian struggles with his place in life with an absent father and no explanation from his mother of why Ray left. 

The well crafted use of silence and the cinematography highlight Ray’s isolation and adds to the weight of expectations for Brian. Despite being in the city, the contrasts help show how similar Brian and Ray actually are as they process their pain and trauma. The intense performances add to the silence and imagery, helping to explain the emotions and reactions of the characters, in particular Ray as he struggles to connect with his brother Jem and decide if he should return with his brother. 

Daniel Day-Lewis as Ray is magnificent and quietly intense, giving an emotional and weighted performance as Ray. Sean Bean and he have a phenomenal connection and their performances are dynamic. Even when neither is speaking, the silence between them speaks volumes, adding depth and layers to the performances. The dialogue between them is full of depth and power. Sean Bean’s performance is compelling and emotional. The performances of Samantha Morton and Samuel Bottomly as Nessa and Brian were also impressive. 

The film is extremely slow and there is a lot of imagery that is hard for the regular audience to understand. I also found that the pacing and dialogue don’t explain the story well in the first act of the film. If some of the odder images had been pared back and the audience provided more about the relationships sooner, this film would have been even better. But the performances more than make up for some of the odd images in the film. And the silence along with the isolated landscapes add to the sense of isolation for the character of Ray. The beautiful landscape and cinematography only intensify the performances and add weight to the story.

If you love Daniel Day-Lewis, I highly recommend this film. The magnificent performances by him and Sean Bean are the heart of this movie. Even though the film does have some odd choices as to when to give backstory, those decisions add to the intensity of the performances and the emotional drama of the scenes. The quiet understated intense performances by Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean are the highlight of the movie and the well crafted use of silence and landscape add to the theme of isolation. This might be slow but the emotional ending packs a punch.

Rating: 4 out of 5 silences.

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