ANEMONE is a decent three and half star 95 minute drama trapped inside a dour, dull two hour plus two-star film. It's all style over substance, as if a blue colour palette, smash-cuts to super-loud music and super-slow push-ins on Daniel Day-Lewis' face can make up for a lack of plot progression.
Here's what we learn at painstakingly slow pace over the first hour and a quarter: Jem (Sean Bean) and Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis) are ex-British soldiers raised by a harsh father. Ray was sexually abused by a priest as a child and having knocked-up his girlfriend Nessa (Samantha Morton), ran off to live off-grid in Yorkshire and has never seen his son Brian (Samuel Bottomley). Nessa then raised Brian with Jem, and they are profoundly religious, whereas Roy remains angry at the Church. The events of the film are kicked into gear when Brian goes absent without leave from the Army, having kicked the shit out of another boy. He has suffered taunts about Roy his whole life and now appears deeply depressed and withdrawn. Nessa asks Roy to finally connect with Brian and prevent any further harm.
The two lead actors are good although Sean Bean only really gets any lines after an hour, and DDL is mostly emoting in big fat sweary monologues. Poor Sam Morton is definitely in a "kind empathetic girl" role. The most perplexing bit of casting or perhaps directing is that of Samuel Bottomley as Brian. Sean Bean's Jem describes him as a natural and charismatic leader with heft to spare. I know the character is deeply depressed when we first meet him but there is no sense that this is something he is capable of.
Overall this is a pretty turgid film that wants to seem important but is just way too long and too formal and too self-important for its content. Such a shame and such a waste of a DDL performance.
ANEMONE is rated R and has a running time of 121 minutes. It was released in the USA on October 3rd.
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