Anemone: Beautifully Shot, Painfully Slow, and Emotionally Hollow
The debut of writer/director Ronan Day-Lewis marks the return of Oscar-winning Daniel Day-Lewis at the forefront of the story. Anemone premiered at the New York Film Festival and follows the story of Ray, a former British soldier who has been living off the grid for unknown reasons and an unspecified period of time. His quiet isolation is interrupted when he receives an unexpected visitor — his brother Jem (Sean Bean), who arrives unannounced. Their first few nights together are awkward, as Jem struggles to find the words for why he’s there. Eventually, he musters the courage to hand Ray a letter. Ray, meanwhile, is battling his own past and doesn’t bring himself to read it until another uncomfortable exchange pushes him to.
As it turns out, Jem’s visit is prompted by concern for Brian (Samuel Bottomley) — Ray’s son. It’s revealed that Ray abandoned both his child and his partner Nessa (Samantha Morton) years ago. But the issue runs much deeper. Ray, once a soldier, was dishonorably discharged and branded a war criminal after what he believed was a merciful killing of an enemy combatant. His act was seen instead as unforgivable, and upon returning home, the guilt consumed him. Unable to face his family or his actions, he disappeared — running from his partner, his son, and himself.
Now, Jem needs Ray to speak with his grown son, who has been struggling and may be following the same destructive path. Both Jem and Nessa believe Ray’s involvement might give Brian the closure or guidance he needs. The problem, however, is that Brian seems to know very little about his father, leaving me wondering what made them so certain his struggles were connected to Ray. The film never dives deeply into Brian’s upbringing or current circumstances, which leaves a noticeable gap in emotional context.
By the end of the film, I questioned why they even told Brian who his father was. Jem had been the one to step in and support Nessa and Brian when Ray ran away — and that dynamic could have been far more compelling to explore. On paper, Anemone sounds like a straightforward story of guilt and reconciliation, but in execution, it falls short. It’s a painfully slow film filled with awkward conversations and a lack of chemistry.
While I can certainly admire the score and appreciate how beautifully the film is shot, I can’t ignore how tedious the pacing feels. It took everything in me not to fall asleep. What’s most frustrating is that we never even see the key conversation between Ray and Brian — the emotional climax the entire story builds toward. Yet we’re given plenty of slow, meandering dialogue that adds little to the narrative.
I’ll always admire Daniel Day-Lewis’s presence on screen — his poise and subtlety are unmatched — but Anemonedoesn’t give him enough to truly impress. His return, while intriguing on paper, ultimately fails to deliver the emotional weight or cinematic spark audiences have waited years to see.
Overall 1/5
