Release Date – 7th November 2025, Cert – 15, Run-time – 2 hours 6 minutes, Director – Ronan Day-Lewis
Former soldier Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) has isolated himself in the woods for years, one day his brother, Jem (Sean Bean) turns up trying to convince him to come home to abandoned familial ties.
Halfway through Anemone it became apparent that this was a film that I was going to have to sit with for some time after. It was a feeling that only increased the more extended monologues of emotional openness led into moments of odd yet intriguing fantasy. Internalised anger leaks out in revelations such as “we learnt our violence from the #1 British regional champion” before leading into the sight of a strange, glowing horse-like figure.
Internalisation, and how it’s exacerbated by isolation, are key themes of Anemone. Daniel Day-Lewis’s Ray has closed himself off in a small shack in the woods. A former soldier, having done multiple stints during The Troubles, his hostile attitude gradually leaks out a history with violence and the undealt with effects that’s had on him. Building up into anger and hidden regret. His isolation and attitude has had knock-on effects that still hang over the family he left behind years prior – particularly ex Nessa (Samantha Morton) and grown son Brian (Samuel Bottomley). When brother Jem (Sean Bean), also a former soldier who has since turned to religion (a tattoo spread across his back reads “only God can judge me”), turns up to convince him to return home and confront the past there’s very little dialogue between the two for much of their initial interactions.
Bean remains generally silent for much of the run-time as the bulk of the dialogue is given to Day-Lewis for a series of monologues circling his character’s held-in rage and trauma. Day-Lewis not only notably returns to acting after retiring in 2017 after Phantom Threat but also co-writes alongside son Ronan, who makes his directorial debut with this feature. The pair appear to set out to cover a lot in the opening stages when it feels like there’s a lot being scrambled together, especially with the score and soundtrack assisting the feeling that the set-up is like a music video or lengthy montage.
When things start to settle that’s where the biggest emotional pulls are to be found. Yes, there are still the strays into more fantastical elements which will undoubtedly be very hit-or-miss; as the film likely will be, too, but they slightly gel better than some of the more naturalistic ideas at play. When we cut to Nessa and Brian alone at their home, whilst Ray tries to make it clear to Jem that the pair won’t reconnect, the quietness of these moments feel disconnected from everything else, as if not holding as much substance and only providing later details for Ray’s course. It’s part of the overall structure of the film which certainly creates some distance with its bumpiness throughout, yet still manages to have enough to hold interest in the unfurling emotions, confrontations and resistances.
Having given the film some time afterwards, and even more so before writing this, there’s no doubt that I have admiration for it and the ways in which it deals with the different ways of dealing with and confronting different kinds of trauma and violence. Especially when it comes to those which span generations. Strong performances, especially Day-Lewis who’s given the juiciest monologues throughout, help to add to the thematic interest, also present in the likely divisive fantastical beats. Just, whilst watching, much like the central brothers, there feels a slight disconnect between the elements at play which don’t always gel together.
While holding interest throughout, especially with its strongly performed themes of generational trauma and violence, there’s occasional disconnect between what Anemone depicts, especially when playing with a lot at once.
Just A Little Bit Random 