A Tepid Testament 

1 ½ stars

The music is charming, reminding one of the background tunes they play in the massage rooms of upscale health spas. And the dancing is overly choreographed and athletic, reminiscent of a modern dance troupe in rehearsal.

But is that what audiences are supposed to take away after watching The Testament of Ann Lee? Shouldn’t they end up with a better understanding, maybe even an appreciation, of Lee (Amanda Seyfried), the founding leader of the Shaker Movement, proclaimed as the female Christ by her followers? 

Shouldn’t a film about the difficult birth of a radical religious movement be more than a way to spend 2 hours staring at a screen, waiting for the bland to become bold?

Directed by Mona Fastvold (The World to Come), The Testament of Ann Lee tells the story of a woman from Manchester, England, whose youthful visions of religious imagery develop into a belief that she is the second coming of Christ. This position causes her and her growing number of converts to be the focus of religious persecution across England and, once she emigrates, America, too. Most of the opposition comes from people who consider her proclamation of personal divinity as blasphemy. Still, there’s an undercurrent of vindictiveness from her declaration that those who follow her must be and remain celibate. Witnessing in detail the terrible abuse she suffers from her husband, Abraham (Christopher Abbott), both in and out of the marriage bed, it’s easy to understand why Ann would want to abstain from sex; how the Shakers will grow their flock in the future is a mystery never touched upon.

Which circles back to the bigger problem with The Testament of Ann Lee. While the script by Fastvold and Brady Corbert touches on many of the trials and tribulations that Lee and her congregation face, there’s a fantastic lack of passion in their on-screen depiction. When they’re being attacked and abused, they need to do more than dance aggressively and sing beatifically. Their religious beliefs may keep them from physically striking back, but they could at least sing like they’re pissed off. The lack of intensity makes for an ultimately uninspiring Testament.