With Daniel Day-Lewis' return to the cinema after 8 years, here's what I thought about Anemone and his phenomenal bond with Sean Bean.
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With Daniel Day-Lewis' return to the cinema after 8 years, here's what I thought about Anemone and his phenomenal bond with Sean Bean.
This is not going to be some fancy review. There will be a minimal use of smart words (purely to feed my ego). I recently had the privilege of watching Anemone, starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean in the lead role, and it was... a sludge.
With a runtime of 126 minutes, Anemone was certainly difficult to get through at times because the plot seemed a bit too thin. However, it was kudos to director Ronan Day-Lewis (in his directorial debut) for making a compelling film that makes you want to stick around to the end.
So, without further ado, here's a fun breakdown of Anemone and my honest take on the film, and the final question of it all...what kind of a movie is named Anemone? I'm kidding. The final question that remains is whether you should watch it or not.
Goes without saying that this will be a spoiler-filled review, so a spoiler warning is now in effect.
Well... it is a beautiful name, but movie titles usually have meanings that point to the gist of the movie. The name Anemone does have a meaning, but one that is veiled behind a flower (smart word).
Anemone is a type of flower central to the key figures in the movie. Sean Bean's Jem mentions that it was his and his brother Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis') favorite flower, while Ray often mentions that he used to beat them.
However, the Anemone flower is a flower that waits and sits immobile, waiting for its prey. This points to Ray's isolation, and how he waits for grief to consume him while sitting in a remote cabin and living a hermit life.
So... the title is both beautiful and genius in a way.
Don't get me wrong. The film has a much deeper meaning behind it all, but... the whole premise could also have been avoided if Daniel Day-Lewis' Ray had simply gone to a good therapist and talked it all out.
The core question that persists in the movie is what happened to Ray that he abandoned his family to live in the woods. It is later revealed that 15 years ago, Ray shot a 16-17-year-old kid who was already dying from a bomb explosion.
Although it was an act of mercy, it was regarded as a war crime, and when Ray was told to lie that the kid was armed, he chose the path of honesty instead. Being unable to live with that fact and the indecisive emotions that he feels, Ray decides to abandon everything and live a hermit's life until the consequences of his actions finally come to pass judgment.
Early on, when Sean Bean's Jem walks over to Ray's cabin, the two men sit down to talk about old times. Jem mentions that Father Rippon died last week, while Ray goes on to tell the disgusting story of how he had met Father Rippon a while ago.
During the tale, Ray mentions that he was naked, squatted over Father Rippon's mouth, and... we don't need to talk about the rest. However, the importance of Father Rippon's story is to establish why Ray became the way he became.
Suffering through s*xual abuse in his teenage years by Father Rippon, Ray took matters into his own hands and did what he thought was justice. Of course, the story could have been less disgusting, but it did serve the plot in a way.
At the end of Anemone, Ray and Jem sit on a cliffside and talk about Ray's actions. Jem tells him that his son, Brian, nearly murdered a kid and that he takes his rage from his father (Ray).
Although Ray is hesitant about returning to his family, the final scene of the movie shows Ray and Jem coming back to town on a motorcycle. Jem goes inside while Ray prepares himself to face his family. Ray turns and takes his first step towards his home before the screen cuts to black, signifying that he is ready to face his consequences.
So, yes. Ray does find redemption in the end, via going back to face the consequences of his actions. However, the wait for the final scene did not feel worth it at all times, as Ronan Day-Lewis took a slow stroll through the woods throughout the entirety of the movie.
Well... Anemone certainly presents itself as a challenging film. Only people with high levels of patience can watch this. Of course, the ones that do make it till the end will be met with a catharsis of an ending, where the anti-hero goes to face the consequences of his actions.
Although bleak in tone, the movie does give moments of brotherhood, occasional beautiful cinematography, and a tone that is melancholic in nature. However, the ending represents hope, which is always a good thing to have around.
The sound, the cinematography, and the acting from Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean is phenomenal. The only problem that the film encounters is the slow pacing of the movie, which sometimes feels too drawn out.
Therefore, I give the film a rating of 7/10. If only the pace had quickened a bit or if some flashback scenes had been added, the movie could have easily been an 8 or even a 9.
Anemone - 7/10
Anemone is available to rent/buy on Apple TV.
