NEW YORK (OSV News) – There is no dialogue in the first 30 minutes of the psychological drama “Anemone” (Focus). Instead, there are many howling winds.
Presumably, this is meant to set the mood for an exploration of the mystery of one man’s anguish and his attempt to isolate himself in order to heal the numerous emotional scars left by his troubled past. Profound, understated acting, we are led to believe, will take place amid the stunning landscapes and thundering weather, providing the audience with an examination of the human condition.
This unusual formula does work for a time. Yet, as the mysteries of the plot eventually unspool, what viewers are left with is the story of a protagonist who has abandoned some important moral obligations.
Returning to the big screen for the first time in nearly eight years, Daniel Day-Lewis plays this central figure, Ray Stoker. Day-Lewis also co-wrote the screenplay with his son, Ronan, who directed the film.
Ray, it develops, is severely damaged due to the harrowing experiences he’s endured. These have included not only the violence visited on him by his father but his molestation by a priest and eventual army service at the peak of the sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland.
For the past two decades, Ray has sequestered himself in a remote cabin in the woods of Northern England, communicating with no one. Now, however, the time has come to renew family ties. So, at least, Ray’s brother, Jem (Sean Bean), believes.
Jem — a Catholic so devout that he is shown praying at a private altar in his home — turns up unannounced in hopes of resolving a crisis that involves both Jem’s adopted son, Brian (Samuel Bottomley), and Brian’s mother, Nessa (Samantha Morton). To add a further level of complication to the plot, Ray, we learn, may be Brian’s biological father.
After a series of long silences, Ray begins to recall his past. He also mocks Jem’s faith and proceeds to tell the gross-out tale of the revenge he wreaked on the abusive cleric. Thereafter, though, the subject is taken no further.
Instead, considerably more clan history is discussed as Jem attempts to restore the old bonds. In the end, Ray comes across as more petulant than tragically sympathetic, even as he reluctantly revisits the world he tried so laboriously to escape.
The film contains mature themes, including clergy sexual abuse and domestic and combat violence, a lengthy scatological monologue and frequent rough language. The OSV News classification is A-III – adults. The Motion Picture Association rating is R — restricted. Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian.
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