No assembly RequireD

Fathers and sons may never fully see eye to eye. Whether a son has a good relationship with his father is less impactful than if both the son and father have a deep understanding of one another. This includes who they are inside as well as their own personal history that helped define who they were and who they became. A father can be absent while still knowing his son, just like a father can be present and be a total stranger in their own house. Ronan Day-Lewis knows his father is considered one of all the time greatest performers to ever grace the stage and screen. To live as the son of Daniel Day-Lewis, a three time Academy Award winner, may have been daunting but also fascinating. It also doesn’t mean Ronan must be defined by his father’s accolades or craftmanship. Daniel Day-Lewis may be known by delivering some of the best performances of the last three decades, but even the prolific actor found ways to find enjoyment elsewhere allowing new craft to come in and out of his life. In 2017 rumors and sly press interviews brought up the possibility that “Phantom Thread” would be Daniel Day-Lewis’ final role before retiring from the movie industry. In that time the thespian remained rather coy and extremely private in his personal life. The possibility of returning always seemed curious however (especially since Daniel himself joked how he wished he never uttered the word “final), and nearly eight years later he has returned in a quiet but humble fashion.

ANEMONE brings Daniel Day-Lewis back on the screen, but this time directed by his most important protegee, his son. Ronan Day-Lewis at just twenty-seven brings ANEMONE to life not just as a way to collaborate with his father (the two co-wrote the film as well), but also as a way to express possible territory that come with being the son of a travelling actor. It is clear that Ronan Day-Lewis doesn’t just want ANEMONE to be some parallel to his life, especially when the film dives into darker areas, but it is hard to shake this feeling of wanting to understand someone better whether it be his father or the men that came before him in his family as well as the mother’s left to pick up the pieces. In doing so the film seems promising in its ability to transport us to themes and emotions that are quite common, however AMENONE suffers greatly from being able to be spotted as a clear first attempt. Bold swings are taken with some reward, but above all else ANEMONE always feels like a starting point that needs a ton of guidance. A young boy lost in the woods waiting for his father to guide him home.

Deep in the woods of Northern England lies a man. A man who appears to have no probably being isolated from the world in a cabin as rundown as the broken man inside. Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) has removed himself from both society and more importantly his son Brian (Samuel Bottomley) and wife Nessa (Samantha Morton). His brother Jem (Sean Bean) who now helps take care of Brian, hopes on his motorbike and heads deep into the woods to find Ray to hopefully bring him home with the news that Brian, who has joined the military, has been placed on temporary discharge for nearly beating one of his comrades to death. ANEMONE is bleak from its very first frame, a frame that is accompanied by a haunting score from Bobby Krilic that speaks to the more modern arthouse take Ronan Day-Lewis wants to exhibit. For a Daniel Day-Lewis film the score is removed from anything classical or elegant period piece and instead a mid-west emo guitar riff that evokes Araki’s “Mysterious Skin,” or Schoenbrun’s “I Saw the TV Glow.” It is almost jarring in the sense that Day-Lewis is playing in a contemporary film that seems to have all the angst of a teenager forced to grow up faster than most.

This bleak manner sets the stage for its entirety as when Jem arrives he is met with a “fuck you” from Ray while also setting a cup of tea for him. It’s a brotherhood bond that is full of tension, love and betrayal. Betrayal in both parties eyes where neither will budge an inch. Sean Bean does his best to hold his own as Jem, a character far more fixated in reality, but Beans performance often struggles against his counterpart. Both brothers brought up by the cloth with Jem truly seeking salvation in God’s words, ANEMONE clearly gives the heavy liftin to Ray. It is also unfortunate that Daniel and Ronan’s joint script never makes anyone besides Ray all that intriguing. Daniel Day-Lewis as Ray gets all the heavy and memorable monologues including a dark comedic tale of defecating on a rapist priest, something that Day-Lewis delivers with ease. It is easy to be excited to see one of the masters back on the screen, but ANEMONE also feels all too easy for Day-Lewis especially when the wight surrounding his speeches feels absent. Scenes are cut to black so often that the film feels episodic and the depth outside of some heavy monologues are shallow enough to keep the film at arm’s length with its audience. There is nothing wrong with a film leaving you cold, but it hurts more when it barely lets you inside to even try and warm up.

Even with the feeling that the film is a first attempt from Ronan Day-Lewis there are still some big swings taken that would have benefited more from being less spaced out. It takes nearly its entire runtime for ANEMONE to try something lasting and before that far too much time is focused on Bottomley’s performance as Brian and his mom, who seem solely there to service the story of Ray and the past pain he still holds onto. As Ray confesses to Jem some of the crimes of his past, the film’s momentum begins to build up all while promising a near the finish line atmosphere. At the same time however this is when the director seems to have his most intriguing ideas of what it means to be an absent father, as well as facing the pain of your own transgressions. On top of that there is also the notion of decades of abuse from both the military and rebel groups that try to dictate what freedom and rebellion truly looks like. And while we learn of Ray’s military background early on there is still not enough time devoted to it when the film tries to leave an impression with some more surrealist imagery.

ANEMONE may be the kind of film that gets over praised or criticized in the wrong fashion. It is clearly a work of art from someone trying to leave their own voice while honoring what came before them. In that sense Ronan Day-Lewis succeeds and even manages to give his father some softballs that he are easily knocked out of the park. Unfortunately though its tedious energy always manages to overshadow the signs of greatness. Instead it becomes a film hellbent on showing what one can do rather than what one can fully say. The film does find itself out of the woods but its ideas still remain to be lost amongst the trees.

C

ANEMONE HAD ITS WORLD PREMIERE AT THE NEW YORK FILM FESTIVAL. IT WILL BE RELEASED IN SELECT THEATERS OCTOBER 3 AND EXPAND ON OCTOBER 10 FROM FOCUS FEATURES