Daniel Day-Lewis’ return to acting needs a little more ambition.
In 2017, Daniel Day-Lewis announced his retirement from acting with Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Phantom Thread” being his last movie. I did mention in my very short review of that film that I can’t say for sure it is final, and I was right to say so, because when his son Ronan was making a movie “Anemone,” his father regretted retiring and came back to acting to star in the film. And he should continue acting, because of how brilliant he is.
When their film premiered at the New York Film Festival, they were both asked if they had any more projects coming up. They both said they were in the early stages of something, but can’t say for sure. We should appreciate “Anemone” for getting the “There Will Be Blood” and “Last of the Mohicans” star back in the game, but I also think the film should be as ambitious as his last films were. This movie has ambiance, but it doesn’t have much development.
The story is set in Northern England, as Day-Lewis plays a former British Soldier named Ray Stoker, who leaves his wife Nessa (Samantha Morton), son Brian (Samuel Bottomley), and brother Jem (Sean Bean) behind to live his life as a hermit in the wilderness, following a traumatic experience with a dead civilian. He’s completely out of touch with society. No TV and no newspapers, but he still has a generator, canned foods, alcohol, radio, and clothes to help him survive the woods. After all these years, Jem embarks on a journey to reunite with him and try to talk some sense into him about coming home to his son.
There are times of visual excitement when Ray sees a glowing dinosaur-like creature in the water, which he thinks may be his son. And there is a hail sequence that reminds me a lot of the raining frogs in “Magnolia.” Those are some examples, and they look great. But I wish I had a better understanding of them.
There are also times when the brothers spend time running on the beach and hiking in the woods. And Ray does make monologues to his brother about his past and choices, which resulted in Jem being a stepfather to Brian. And sometimes, they do have to fight. What isn’t a drama without fights?
We also see Brian and Nessa struggling to get on with their lives. He’s in his father’s shadow, while she constantly tries to get in touch with him, via letters. These scenes are under-lit from the true potential that “Anemone” has in regarding the subject matter of father and son, brother and brother. There should be more development and less moping, because we don’t know much about them, and we should know more about them.
Day-Lewis and Bean both give great performances in this movie, as they start off quietly acknowledging each other’s presences, continue with their time in the wilderness, share some drinks, and deliver the emotions within whatever sent the one brother in the wilderness. He says: “I’ve done the crime, I’m doing the time.” You can tell the rage, sadness, and humanity he’s releasing, and you’re glad Day-Lewis is back in the saddle again. And Bean also displays the right tone and disposition for his character, as he should be regarding the lives they’re living.
Now, “Anemone” makes for great father-son bonding, and we should thank Daniel for reconsidering his decision and Ronan for giving him the opportunity to do so. But the young man needs to push his game a little more. This movie is more ambiance and less substance, which is too bad, because there should be both. If he guides his father with the same kind of light that has elevated his other films, then you can tell he wants to follow in his footsteps. He just needs to keep trying.