Amanda Seyfried starrer The Testament of Ann Lee debuts with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score

The Testament of Ann Lee, the latest historical drama starring Amanda Seyfried, has received a glowing critical reception upon its premiere at the 2025 Venice Film Festival.

The film, based on real events, brought writer-director Mona Fastvold back to Venice after The Brutalist, which she co-wrote with her real-life partner, Brady Corbet, earned him the Silver Lion for his direction. The couple later received nominations at the Oscars, the BAFTAs, and the Golden Globes for their original screenplay.

Fastvold and Corbet also co-wrote the script for the new Amanda Seyfried starrer, but unlike The Brutalist, Fastvold took charge of the direction. It seemed to have paid off handsomely, since the film has received a rousing reception by the Venice crowd, as per Variety, followed by a wonderful response from the critics.

The Testament of Ann Lee debuted with a perfect Rotten Tomatoes score based on 11 early reviews. This means that the film has received a unanimously positive response so far.

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What are critics saying about The Testament of Ann Lee?

The historical drama starring Amanda Seyfried is set around a fable about the titular religious leader Ann Lee, where Seyfried plays Ann. Its plot synopsis, as revealed by the Venice Film Festival, reads,

"An epic fable inspired by the life of Ann Lee, the founder of the Shakers, a radical religious movement that began in the late 1700s."

The film marks Mona Fastvold's return to a feature directorial role after the 2020 film, The World to Come, headlined by Vanessa Kirby and Katherine Waterston. It's her latest collaboration with Amanda Seyfried, who has previously starred in shows like The Crowded Room and Long Bright River, where she directed a few episodes.

The early RT score offers a hopeful sign for The Testament of Ann Lee, which would boost the interest in this project through positive word of mouth. Speaking about the reviews, Ben Croll from TheWrap said,

"Fastvold fuses form with function to meet an 18th-century religious leader on her own terms, delivering a thrillingly modern incantation of an antiquated tune."

Wendy Ide from Screen International wrote,

"It’s a frayed fabric of a story that contains moments of daring artistry and beauty, but doesn’t always knit together into something satisfying and solid."

Robbie Collin from The Daily Telegraph (UK) spoke about Fastvold's command over the craft. His quote read,

"Comparisons to The Brutalist are inevitable... The free-range majesty and fine-grained, muddy-fingernailed detail of Fastvold’s film, though, is entirely its own thing: like Ann, I was left wobbly and breathless by its grandeur and nerve."

Peter Bradshaw from The Guardian offered a mixed reaction, as his quote said,

"This is a genuinely strange film, elusive in both tone and meaning... Fastvold is perhaps asking her audience to take whatever elements from the film they find congenial. An enigmatic ritual that is not for everyone."

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What else do we know about the new Amanda Seyfried starrer?

Mona Fastvold's The Testament of Ann Lee was initially described as a musical biopic. So, during a recent conversation, a Variety journalist asked Amanda Seyfried how she would describe the film. Here's what she said,

"It’s a celebration. It’s an experience. It’s unlike anything, so it is hard to describe for me as somebody who’s not very good at describing things. But it felt very brave, and it felt very scary. But once we were shooting that lifted."

Even though Seyfried sings in the film, it isn't quite like her singing in Les Misérables (2012) or Mamma Mia! (2008). When asked about preparing for her vocal performance, the actress told Variety,

"Some of it was un-singing. There’s no such thing! De-singing? Anti-singing? A lot of it was animal sounds as opposed to melodic sounds. And it was less about listening to myself."

Apart from Seyfried, The Testament of Ann Lee also stars Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson, Stacy Martin, Viola Prettejohn, and Matthew Beard, among others.