TIFF 2025 Review: ‘The Testament of Ann Lee’ is an Ambitious Historical Musical But Something is Missing

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Ann Lee (Amanda Seyfried) is a woman looking for answers. A devout Christian who has longed from an early age to devote herself to God, she finds herself welcomed into a new religious movement. The Shaking Quakers, better known as the Shakers, worship the almighty via ecstatic song and dance, movements that veer between poetic and possessed. As Ann gives more of herself over to the philosophies of the Shakers, she has a vision that she is the second coming of Jesus Christ. What else is there to do about it but sing?

For her third feature film — and most high-profile to date — as director, Mona Fastvold has set herself a mighty challenge. How do you tell the

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