I was starting to worry about Mona Fastvold’s “The Testament of Ann Lee,” a polarizing song-and-dance musical—if you even want to call it that—which screened at Venice and TIFF. It had no distribution—until today.
Searchlight Pictures has now secured North American rights to Fastvold’s film. The studio is planning a theatrical release later this year. Good luck to all involved with this one. What’s the game-plan here? Searchlight’s decision likely stems from a thin awards slate this year, with only “Rental Family” and “Is This Thing On?” as possibilities.
Starring Amanda Seyfried and centering on the titular woman who founded the Shakers movement and was proclaimed by her followers as the “female Christ,” I called ‘Ann Lee’ “Venice’s Most WTF Movie,” a puzzling spectacle with thin plotting that mostly revolves around its musical numbers. The “songs” are more like one-phrase chants, and the dancing is more like twitching and convulsing.
Critics seem split on a love-it-or-hate-it train when it comes to this one. Its admirers are even saying Seyfried has a shot at an Oscar nomination for Best Actress—I highly doubt it. The good news is that Fastvold’s film has its champions, was made for under $10M, and will likely entice some adventurous arthouse moviegoers to check it out.