Amanda Seyfried get emotional as The Testament of Ann Lee recieves a 15-minute-long standing ovation at Venice

Amanda Seyfried couldn't control her tears after the screening of The Testament of Ann Lee, which went on to receive a 15-minute-long standing ovation at this year's Venice Film Festival.

The musical biopic, co-written and directed by Mona Fastvold, was headlined by Seyfried as the titular religious leader from the 1700s, who offered a sense of community through a radical movement. Seyfried starred alongside Thomasin McKenzie, Stacy Martin, Christopher Abbott, Lewis Pullman, Tim Blake Nelson, and more.

According to Variety, the film received the longest ovation at Venice, surpassing the minute count for Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein. Following the screening, the Venice crowd began applauding and cheering as the ecstatic cast was trying to take it all in. The clip, shared by Variety, shows Amanda Seyfried positively overwhelmed by their thunderous response.

The publication reports that Fastvold's real and reel-life partner, Brady Corbet, was also present for the premiere as the film's co-writer, a year after their recent, fruitful collaboration on The Brutalist. As the applause started dissipating, he left the screening with Fastvold, along with the cast. While leaving, Seyfried modestly told Variety,

“I think people quite liked it.”

Amanda Seyfried speaks about her role in The Testament of Ann Lee and sheds light on her creative process

Amanda Seyfried takes a big swing with her role in The Testament of Ann Lee, as she has to sing and act as a Mancunian woman. It's a role that demands more patience and discipline to nail the accent and figure out the intricacies in her singing performance, which isn't the kind of singing she has done in Les Misérables or Mamma Mia!.

Speaking about this part of her performance with Variety, Seyfried elaborated on how she found the vocal register. She said,

"A lot of it was animal sounds as opposed to melodic sounds. And it was less about listening to myself. In the studio in Budapest, I was hearing myself, but it was not happy-making -- it was stressful, because I understood that I didn’t have to sound beautiful in a way that is beautiful to me. It was more like a woman on her knees."

When asked about nailing the Mancunian accent as an American actress, she cited a key inspiration behind The Testament of Ann Lee.

"Maxine Peake. She was my beacon. I just love knowing about where she grew up -- she’s very culturally in the know and very passionate about where she’s from, which is Bolton. And the internet had her on a silver platter for me," she said.

As revealed before, The Testament of Ann Lee centers around an 18th-century religious leader of the Shaker movement. Per Variety, the community members were known for:

"Their ecstatic behavior during worship, practicing celibacy and living simply in a communal fashion"

Before this, Seyfried played Elizabeth Holmes, a leader driven by her opportunist tendencies. Unlike the Theranos founder, Seyfried finds Ann "divinely inspired" by her calling. She elaborated on this topic, saying,

"She [Ann] wasn’t trying to get rich by signing people up to Shaker classes. I think she had full conviction and believed that anyone who needed to be saved or wanted to join the community was absolutely welcome. It felt really clean. Like a utopia."

Seyfried further added,

Trending

"There’s a big difference between [Lee and Holmes]. They’re both leaders, for sure, but the intention is everything. Ann’s intention never wavered."

After The Testament of Ann Lee, Seyfried is slated to star in Paul Feig's The Housemaid, alongside Sydney Sweeney, Brandon Sklenar, and more. Other projects on her radar include a comedy film, My Ex-Friend's Wedding, a prison drama, The Life and Deaths of Wilson Shedd, the latter of which is written and directed by her Ann Lee co-star, Tim Blake Nelson.

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback

Quick Links

More from SoapCentral