Upon the release of Phantom Thread, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis called it quits on acting. Yet eight years on, and the Hattrick Oscar winner, considered by many to be the greatest living thespian, is back on the big screen. The 68-year-old has teamed up with his director son, Ronan Day-Lewis, to co-write a sledgehammer of a psychological drama together. Anemone is set two decades after brothers Ray (Day-Lewis) and Jem (Sean Bean) served in the British Army during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Ray has been living in a hermit hut deep in the woods, while his sibling is now married to his ex-wife Nessa (Samantha Morton) and is raising their son, Brian (Samuel Bottomley). Needing his brother’s help, Jem hikes to the isolated cabin in a dialogue-free opening that leans on Ben Foresman’s gorgeous cinematography.
Reunited in the make-shift shack, the gruff, tattooed Northern vets get down to business, and the bottled-up trauma just spills out. Ray mocks Jem’s quiet Catholic faith in the face of the suffering he’s faced in childhood, at home and on tours of duty. Spitting and cursing like a kettle well past boiling point, Day-Lewis is an acting powerhouse, pouring his character’s pain out in droves at his brother.
The story extends beyond the hut, with powerful scenes featuring Morton and Bottomley’s mother and son, but revealing further details would spoil the emotional impact. At two hours, it does all go on a bit, but Day-Lewis’ performance is worth the ticket price alone. A welcome return and hopefully not his last.
Anemone is in cinemas from Friday.
