Overview
- Deadline’s Read the Screenplay series published the Mona Fastvold–Brady Corbet script, outlining a three-act arc from Ann Lee’s early life in England to the Shaker community’s founding in America.
- The film, directed by Fastvold and led by Amanda Seyfried, premiered at Venice where Fastvold won the Silver Lion for Best Director before Searchlight acquired it.
- Searchlight released the film in U.S. theaters on December 25, with awards traction that includes a Gotham Best Feature nod and Best Actress nominations for Seyfried from the Gothams, Golden Globes and Critics Choice.
- An Aftermath review highlights Daniel Blumberg’s reworked Shaker spirituals and original compositions as the movie’s driving force, integrating song into worship rather than traditional musical numbers.
- Critics point to Celia Rowlson-Hall’s forceful choreography and the film’s hybrid biopic form even as the narrative loosens after the American settlement, with coverage noting the Shaker movement’s near-extinction today.