Middle-aged Jem sets out from his suburban home on a journey into the woods, where he reconnects with his estranged hermit brother Ray. Bonded by a mysterious, complicated past, the men share a fraught, if occasionally tender relationship—one that was forever altered by shattering events decades earlier.
Ratings
Curator score: 1.4/10
IMDb: 5.6/10
Letterboxd: 2.79/5
Metacritic: 53
TMDB: 6.1/10
Director
Ronan Day-Lewis
Production
Focus Features, Plan B Entertainment, Absinthe Film Entertainment
Cast
Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean Bean, Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, Safia Oakley-Green, Lewis Ian Bray, Paul Butterworth, Karl Cam, JP Conway, Angus Cooper, Adam Fogerty, Richard Graham, Mark Holgate, Holly Rhys, Jag Sanghera, Sid Akbar Ali, Eve Townsend
Where to watch
Netflix, Netflix Standard with Ads
Curator Review
Verdict
A bold, actor-driven family drama with striking imagery and a major performance, but it sounds more like an ambitious first swing than a fully satisfying whole. The emotional material and atmosphere seem compelling even when the storytelling gets unwieldy or self-conscious.
Best for
viewers who prioritize great acting over tidy plotting
fans of austere, mood-heavy family dramas
people curious about a high-profile directorial debut
audiences open to slow, reflective films with long monologues
Skip if
you want a tightly paced narrative
you dislike experimental or uneven debut features
you need constant plot momentum
you’re impatient with heavy, dialogue-forward drama
Overview
Anemone looks like the kind of film that announces a filmmaker with real ambition before it proves they have complete control. The setting, the estranged-brothers premise, and the sense of buried trauma all point toward a serious, brooding drama with strong visual confidence and a willingness to linger on emotional damage rather than explain it away.
Worth noting
The film’s biggest draw is clearly performance. Daniel Day-Lewis returning to the screen is enough to make the project feel event-level, and the surrounding reactions suggest he dominates the movie in the best and most disruptive ways. Sean Bean and Samantha Morton also seem to give the material some needed grounding.
Bottom line
Still, the response points to a film that can feel weightless or overextended, with more striking gestures than fully integrated drama. For viewers who like their prestige family tragedies a little rough around the edges, that may be part of the appeal. For everyone else, it may land as an impressive near-miss rather than a must-see.
Top Letterboxd reviews
Mark Hayes (2★) · 2946 likes
Remember when Michael Jordan came out of retirement to play for the Wizards?
It was always interesting watching Jordan play basketball.
But he was still on the Wizards.
Filip_ (2★) · 1340 likes
"Trust me dad it's gonna look soooo cool"
George Carmi · 1297 likes
nyff63 #2
i’d much rather watch a debut filmmaker take these types of risks and “fail” than watch one play it annoyingly safe and deliver something forgettably average. most of it proved weightless but there are hints of something cool in here. daniel day and sean bean are exceptional.
Bobby Wagner (2★) · 1002 likes
on the one hand, there were only six people in the theater that I saw this in. on the other hand, me and Paul Schrader were two of them, so it’s impossible to say whether this movie is failing or succeeding
-ˏˋ mak ˊˎ- (2.5★) · 939 likes
only daniel day-lewis could deliver an oscar worthy monologue about literal shit