Anemone

That being said, if alls that it took was 1 bike ride for Sean Bean to get there, and Day-Lewis could just hike to the pub the whole time to have a pint, would it really have been that hard for his son to find him 🤷‍♂️

This film is purely for the pretentious film snobs. As I wouldn't honestly recommend it to pretty much anyone.

My positives:

• DDL's Monologue's
• The Craft that's clearly gone into the film, some of cinematography was great as well as some nice special effects.

• Both DDL and Sean Beans overall performances
• Believability in the writing of them both being veterans and the ptsd DDL's character feels.

Negatives:

• It's dull as dishwater.

• Some of the shots and moments that the characters are silent are just obnoxiously long.

• Pretty much anytime DDL and Sean Bean weren't on screen. I couldn't care less about the son's story, if you cut his and the mums scenes out the film I don't think it would have much impact and probably even improve the story.

• Although the special effects were cool, and I know it was a dream sequences, it seemed too fantasy film like so it took me out of it at times.

• It's meant to be about how DDL is a recluse and hermit, yet alls that it took was 1 motorbike ride and walk through the woods for Sean Bean to get there.

• Plus, Halfway through they both go to a pub, so how isolated can this place be if at any point DDL can just seemingly hike to the pub for a pint. Therefore, given that the son is also a soldier, and Bean has his coordinates the whole time surely he couldn't have just found him himself.

I know this is a nitpick about the location, as they don't say how far away exactly this place is, so sure we can assume it's hard to get too, but given how long they make certain parts of the film, the sequences getting to and from the place aren't that long in comparison.

Overall, as I said at the start, I wouldn't recommend Anemone to most people. As if I take off my DDL rose coloured glasses, and just judge it for the film itself like any other then it just fails.

Movie is character-driven & slower paced w basically no action, so if that's not your forte you definitely won't like this movie.

What they'll fail to tell you is that DDL cowrote the script w his son. It's Ronin's director debut so obviously gonna have some rough edges, but for a first, it's really good. Ignore anyone complaining about nepotism, they just mad their dad isn't mf Daniel Day Lewis.

Anemone is a visual and auditory treat, intermittently sprinkled with heartfelt moments brought to life by the incredible performance of Daniel Day-Lewis. Between these powerful scenes lies a great deal of patient, deliberate filmmaking and quiet sombreness which most of the criticism lies.

The story itself is relatively simple, but it leans heavily on its emotional weight to carry it through. Anemone is a slow burn exploration of guilt and abandonment, tackling heavy themes with restraint and subtlety. A few abstract sequences feel somewhat out of place, though they invite interpretation.

For the most part, I found the experience interesting. Anemone's runtime could have been trimmed to prevent it from feeling so slow and the story might have benefited from delving slightly beyond its final scene but ultimately, I understand and appreciate the meaning behind its ending.

Yes I was excited to see Daniel act in a film again but I was disappointed with this one. Setting aside the beautiful cinematography and lighting I felt the slow push in zooms were redundant as well as the main score. I was bored and was able to figure out what he did pretty early on. Style over substance on this one. I kept hoping the several cut to blacks that happened each time were the ending. Pretentious is the best way to describe this film. So far the biggest disappointment of 2025.

I was hopeful at the start, with its stunning scenery and immediate tension, but that promise quickly faded during the mostly dialogue-free first act. The eventual monologues are delivered well as expected but never pull me into the plot, and the tortoise pacing makes the runtime feel much longer than it is. It's a half hour too long.