‘Anemone’ is more than just the return of Daniel Day-Lewis

You hear it before you see it. First, children’s designs of soldiers and conflicts, Irish flags, flames and bodies separate from its members appear. Then comes a country landscape, a portrait of nature that would be idyllic, were it not for the threatening gray sky. A storm not too distant is clearly forming. There is silence. And then the sound of hard work. We see a glimpse of a curved and muscular figure, back to the camera. He seems to be pulling roots from something in the stony ground – a gesture that will become much more symbolic as history advances. It is impossible not to think of another mysterious man, apparently at war with his own earth. Your face remains hidden. Still, he looks familiar.

Annemonethe film debut of the writer, artist and filmmaker Ronan Day-Lewiswill be celebrated, first of all, as the return of Daniel Day-Lewis – Winner of Oscarabsolute legend of acting, the epitome of dedication to the craft – almost a decade after announcing that he had left behind the “walking and raging” of the stage. (The film premiered last Sunday, 28, in New York Film Festival And there is no premiere of debut in Brazilian theaters.)

“We only value when they lose,” as they say, and watch the veteran Day-Lewis interpret Ray Stokera former British soldier living in self-imposed exile exemplifies why his absence has made the cinema a little poorer. That particular alchemy – where the combination of a certain interpreter and camera creates both a “moment” and something far beyond that – is already present in its early appearances without speech. It is a reminder of why he is quoted with such admiration and reverence, and how his reputation as one of the most fascinating and chameleon actors of all time is more than deserved. (Without wanting to make a “best moments”, but: all these roles were lived by the same actor.)

Still, the temptation to treat this extraordinary look at how pain legacies reverberate through generations only as a showcase for the star’s formidable discipline and talent needs to be set aside, as that would be to reduce the movie itself. Annemone It is both an introduction to an artist and a reintroduction to an absent presence of the screens. And even when it approaches that territory of “art cinema aesthetics” that can cause the eye to turn around, this exploitation of what hides in the silences between blood ties – and the difficulty of overcoming the tragedies of the past – makes you feel that you are watching something truly unique. It is the work of a young filmmaker. But it is also very clearly the work of a true filmmaker, full of creativity and refining his vision in real time. To name another member of this family of Cinéfilos: You need to pay attention.

Attention, ironically, is the last thing that Ray Want. He lives in solitary self -sufficiency in the forests of northern England for decades, taking care of psychic wounds. Calling it from Stoic would be little. It is not geographically distant from civilization, but it could well be thousands of light years, and you wonder how long it has been since he has exchanged more than few words with another human being. Ray There is no contact with the family for ages, but this is about to change. Your brother, Jem (Sean Bean), helped create Brian (Samuel Bottomly), son of Rayas if it were your own son. But he is concerned about his nephew, as the young man demonstrates the same volatility and propensity to the missing father’s violence. The bloody wounds in the nodes of the fingers of Brian They say a lot.

This 20 -year -old boy, like his father, joined the army. There was an incident, and now Brian You need to face the consequences of your actions. But the boy’s mother, In that (Samantha Morton), believes that perhaps there is a way to prevent the child from losing the soul completely. This way involves Ray. So, as in a fairy tale, Jem You need to get into the forest and bring your brother long away back to the conviviality. It has only the coordinates of latitude and longitude of the whereabouts of the relative, nothing more. Some time later, Ray He is absorbed in his work when he hears a noise outside the cabin. We see when he picks up an ax, the camera closing in his firm hand, ready for battle. So a crack is heard, as if someone hit code. The hand of Ray Relax on the weapon cable. He knows who is outside.

These are economic touches like this, where a simple nonverbal gesture reveals everything, which makes it clear that there is a silently dynamic storyteller behind the camera. Annemone There are many of these contained and accurate frames, which balance some of the boldest flowers and hallucinatory digressions on the scene; A simple conversation between these combative brothers can give way to the image of a bright angelic woman floating on the bed of Rayor the appearance of an elongated neck creature, human face and a tiny penis. (Helps know that Ronan He is also a painter and sculptor, and that this enigmatic creature is linked to previous works of him.) What begins as raw realism of “cooking sink” can suddenly become hyperrealism à la David Lynchand the particular mixture of Annemone – Part piece of two characters to Samuel Beckettpart drama of trauma, part installation that explores masculinity as a prison of multiple cells – runs the risk of warding up as many viewers as impresses.

None of the categories mentioned above usually includes, like a central piece, a sweeping anecdote involving an aggressor, a confrontation and the sudden expulsion of various curry meals with Guinness. But believe me when we say that the version of Daniel Day-Lewis This history of eschatological revenge is, by itself, a masterful class of monologue. He is hilarious, horrible and sounds like a symphony of equally profane suites. Father and Son share the movie’s script credits and although the veteran Day-Lewis Apparently improvised this reminder of epic defecation during his conversations-it can be said that he simply exploded from his subconscious as a Geyser-the moment reveals such a tuned collaboration that everything remains consistent with the character and in perfect tune with the rest of the work. Ronan It may have released Kraken by allowing its protagonist to explore so -indominated terrain, but prepares the film to accommodate both silent expressions and stratospheric throb. Central performance never eclipses the movie: it seems contained in something that expands and contracts as needed.

It is worth mentioning that the rest of the cast – yes, those who are not called Daniel Day-Lewis – It’s equally sharp. Sean Bean It works as an anchor and clash partner at the height of your colleague. Like the exhausted wife of Ray, Samantha Morton Prove once again to be a “six -inch actress” – that is, just put the camera fifteen inches from your face and it delivers a complete performance from end to end to a single close. You feel you know this woman, despite the short time on the scene and even less speeches. Bottomley brought depth to the dubious moral character in the disturbing ripening film How to Have Sex (2023), from Molly Manning Walkerand does the same here with the closed young man at risk of succumbing to the family’s curse.

And, of course, it is impossible to forget that Ray It is the character in the center of everything – the one who, like the flower that gives name to Annemonecloses your petals as the storm approaches. The radical delivery of Day-Lewis This torn man ensures that his torments give the film a time bomb quality, and his final look, a state of grace. Even those who can criticize the debut of direction for sometimes giving in to the anxiety of influence, will recognize the feat it represents. Forget, for a moment, that this can be both an extraordinary point out of the curve to the legendary actor and the beginning of a new and fertile chapter. Face it more like the product of two artists, from different generations, who found ordinary terrain and made something extraordinary from there.

+++ Read more: Timothée Chalamet, indicated to the Oscar, quotes Daniel Day-Lewis as inspiration to achieve ‘excellence’

• Annemone

• cinema

• criticism

• Daniel Day-Lewis

• film

• Ronan Day-Lewis