There aren’t many actors who command the attention as fiercely as Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean – and if you’d gladly spend two hours watching them have an act-off in a wood cabin, Anemone is for you. Playing estranged brothers, their performances are riveting in a film that’s also bold, challenging and puzzling.
It’s the 1980s, and Ray Stoker (Bean) arrives in a remote English forest to confront his hermit brother, Jem (Day-Lewis). He’s bid goodbye to his partner (Samantha Morton) and their boy Brian (Samuel Bottomley) in their suburban home with prayer and a solemn face, almost as if he’s heading off to war. It’s been 20 years since he’s seen Ray, who’s become an angry recluse. Over the ensuing days, Ray attempts to get through to his brother. The details of their shared past in the British military emerge, along with the reason for a visit that no-one seems to really want.
It’s a quietly intriguing scenario powered by exceptional performances. Day-Lewis entirely inhabits his character, transforming into a man who’s both enigmatic and crass, breaking his silence for scatalogical monologues that, once again, no-one asked for. As the comparatively presentable Ray, Bean brings a gruff warmth amid internal conflict: this is a religious man who’s devoted to his family and is driven by a combination of duty, love, curiosity and resentment. Meanwhile, back home, Samantha Morton puts in a quietly heartbreaking turn as Nessa. She’s striving to deal with troubled young man Brian, while working in a hospital and anxiously awaiting news from a place that definitely does not have a landline.
There’s magic on screen when these two performers come together
Daniel Day-Lewis co-wrote Anemone with his son, Ronan, a painter who directs the film with bursts of visual ambition and surreal audio and visual touches, such as appearances from a strange creature who also haunts his paintings. These forays form a stark contrast with the grubby realism of the cabin, and give the film a cryptic tone that’s likely to divide audiences.
But there’s no denying the magic on screen when these performers come together. This family endeavour is an acting masterclass, and we should be grateful that it’s lured Daniel Day-Lewis back into acting after eight years in the metaphorical woods.
In UK and Ireland cinemas Nov 7.