It’s been eight years since Daniel Day-Lewis last appeared on the silver screen, and in that time, many have speculated his reasons behind his supposed retirement. That is, until his son, Ronan Day-Lewis, decided to pull him back into the fold for a father-son collaboration. The result is Anemone, directed by Ronan, co-written by the two of them, and clearly aiming for high expectations. But let’s be honest: for all its ambition, it’s kind of a beautiful mess.
Jem Stoker (Sean Bean), visits his estranged, and elusive hermit brother, Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) in the remote English woods, to convince him to come home after his son, Brian (Samuel Bottomley) gets into a fight that nearly kills a man.
What’s most tragic about Anemone is that there’s a genuinely good film buried somewhere inside it. When it leans into the tense cat-and-mouse dynamic between Ray and Jem as the two brothers circling around each other’s pain, it really works. In those moments, whether it’s a bursting argument or just a charged silence, I was completely drawn in by the psychological tug-of-war. This war where they wonder who is going to crack first as they pick apart each other’s lies, half-truths, and buried wounds. It’s especially magnetic watching Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean go head-to-head, both delivering the kind of raw, layered performances you’d expect from them, as they unravel in each other’s grief and demons. In those slightly surreal, deeply intimate stretches, Anemone becomes something truly mesmerizing.
However, once the film drifts away from Ray and Jem and shifts focus to Brian and his mother Nessa (Samantha Morton), things start to lose momentum. And it’s not because Samuel and Samantha give weak performances, they’re both solid. The problem is their storyline just doesn’t have much to chew on; it feels more like padding than purpose. Furthermore, when Anemone leans further into its surreal, fever-dream sequences, the pacing completely unravels. For a two-hour film, it somehow manages to feel closer to three, dragging under the weight of its own aimlessness. There’s a tight, compelling 90-minute movie hidden somewhere in here, but it’s buried under all that sluggish pacing.
In the end, Anemone is kind of a beautiful mess. But honestly, I can’t help but respect it. Ronan Day-Lewis clearly has potential as a director, he’s bold, unafraid to take big swings. That alone is worth noting. The film oozes in this dark atmosphere, filled with breathtaking cinematography and sound design that pulls you into this strange, dreamlike world. The score matches the mood as it’s brooding, heavy, and a little haunting. And for the dialogue, while occasionally self-indulgent, it has a rhythm and confidence that’s hard to ignore. Yet for all its artistry, the film stumbles in its execution. Still, I’ll always take a big ambitious misfire over something safe and forgettable, and Anemone, for all its flaws, is anything but forgettable.
My Rating: C+
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