Anemone (15)
Cast: Samantha Morton, Daniel Day-Lewis, Sean BeanGenre: Drama
Author(s): Ronan Day-Lewis, Daniel Day-Lewis
Director: Ronan Day-Lewis
Release Date: 07/11/2025 (selected cinemas)
Running Time: 126mins
Country: US/UK
Year: 2025
Jem Stoker has been estranged from his brother Ray for 20 years. During those two decades, Jem has sought refuge in his faith and the love of his partner Nessa while Ray has forged a solitary life in self-imposed exile. Nessa's troubled son Brian faces dire repercussions after he lashes out at bullies. Concerned about the young man's mental wellbeing, Nessa entreats Jem to deliver a handwritten letter to Ray to implore him to return home and explain the past to his son.
LondonNet Film Review
Anemone (15) Film Review from LondonNet
Three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis comes out of retirement to deliver a thunderous and uncompromising performance flecked with simmering fury and tear-sodden anguish in his son Ronan’s audacious feature directorial debut. Fractious family dynamics are at the gnarled, blackened heart of Anemone, co-written by two generations of the Day-Lewis dynasty. Shot on location in the north of England and Wales, this unremittingly bleak drama repeatedly venerates style over substance, drawing attention to bold directorial flourishes and impeccably composed tableaux at the expense of storytelling clarity, full-blooded characterisation and dramatic expediency…
A freak hailstorm, which unleashes cricket ball-sized pellets of ice on the cast, is staged with breathless brio and the image of a giant fish floating downstream in lustrous slow motion is haunting but both vignettes serve no clear narrative purpose beyond demonstrating the younger Day-Lewis’s artistic flair. The script builds gradually to the revelation of a dark family secret, spoken aloud in the film’s turbulent second act, along with the sobering truth about a merciful act that has been misconstrued as something untoward.
Meaty, emotionally wrought monologues, delivered with typical aplomb by older Day-Lewis, fill in the blanks. Co-star Sean Bean attempts to match the snarling ferocity. Both men end up wrestling in the mud. Gorgeously framed inserts of trees swaying in the breeze, a hilltop-trek framed by the ochre glow of the sun and Mother Nature’s fury bloat the running time beyond two hours.
Jem Stoker (Bean) has been estranged from his brother Ray (Day-Lewis) for 20 years, haunted by a family history scarred with violence and regret. During those two decades, Jem has sought refuge in his faith and the love of his partner Nessa (Samantha Morton) while Ray has forged a solitary life in self-imposed exile in a primitive cabin in the woods. Nessa’s troubled son Brian (Samuel Bottomley) faces dire repercussions after he lashes out at bullies taunting him about his father Ray.
Concerned about the young man’s mental wellbeing, Nessa entreats Jem to deliver a handwritten letter to Ray to implore him to return home and explain the past to his son. Long-forgotten resentments bubble to the surface as siblings revisit old grudges and the shattering truth of Ray’s actions during The Troubles in Northern Ireland. Jem compels his brother to confront these phantoms but Ray resists opening old wounds: “I don’t owe nowt to nobody.”
Anemone is an artfully staged meditation on abandonment, guilt and intergenerational trauma that keeps us at arm’s length from the on-screen despair. This sensorial overload, crafted in collaboration with cinematographer Ben Fordesman, struggles to make an impact beyond its technical execution. The older Day-Lewis is gifted the lion’s share of the verbal fireworks (“Got me girl, got me son, got me life. What else so you want?!”) while Morton and Bottomley are short-changed in their disappointingly limited screen time.
– Jo Planter
Popular on LondonNet
London Cinemas Showing Anemone
From: Friday 7th November
To: Thursday 13th November
Cineworld At The O2, Greenwich
Fri-Sun/Wed/Thu 14:10 (Wed/Thu) 20:00; Mon/Tue 13:30 20:00
Fri 20:20; Sat/Mon/Tue 14:20 17:20 20:20; Sun 16:40 19:45; Wed/Thu 14:40 20:10
Fri 20:30; Sat 17:45; Sun 13:20; Mon 20:20; Tue 17:20; Wed 11:30; Thu 11:10
Sat 21:00; Sun 20:00; Tue 15:45 20:15; Wed 16:00 20:30; Thu 15:45 20:30
Fri-Tue 14:30 (Sat-Tue) 20:30; Wed/Thu 14:30 17:30
Sat-Mon 14:10 20:00; Tue 14:10 17:10; Wed/Thu 14:20 20:10
Sat-Tue 12:00 (Sat/Sun) 17:45; Wed 20:30; Thu 20:00
Sat-Tue 16:50 19:50; Wed 13:50 19:50; Thu 14:50 20:40
Sat 10:30 20:15; Sun 13:10; Mon 15:30; Tue 12:10 17:25; Wed 11:30; Thu 12:00
Fri 19:45; Sat 12:55 16:05 21:30; Sun 12:15 15:00 20:35; Mon 15:10 17:50 20:20; Tue 15:25 16:35 18:25; Wed 14:10 16:35 21:50; Thu 15:35 17:50 21:25
Fri 17:25 19:35 22:20; Sat 10:10 21:50 23:50; Sun 09:20 15:40 21:35; Mon 15:55 17:55 21:20; Tue 16:10 17:40 19:30; Wed 15:15 17:25 21:50; Thu 14:00 16:20 21:50
Fri 21:50; Sat 14:55 21:35; Sun 09:20 19:15 22:45; Mon 15:50 18:35 21:40; Tue 14:30 19:15 21:55; Wed 14:40 17:45 19:55; Thu 15:15 18:50 21:45
Fri/Tue 15:15 (Tue) 17:15 19:15 23:50 (Fri); Sat 17:10 21:15; Sun/Thu 15:05 (Thu) 17:15 21:50; Mon 16:15 19:15 21:15; Wed 14:45 17:15 21:55
Fri 17:25 20:15; Sat 15:05 18:25 21:35; Sun 12:50 16:00 21:55; Mon 15:30 16:30 21:35; Tue 15:35 17:40 19:25; Wed 14:30 16:35 22:00; Thu 15:40 17:45 19:45
Fri 17:25 20:20; Sat 14:45 17:05 18:40 21:10; Sun 10:50 13:05 15:25 16:50 19:15; Mon 13:20 15:10 17:10 19:15 21:50; Tue 12:55 15:20 17:50 19:00 21:15; Wed 14:00 16:05 17:50 19:45; Thu 12:30 15:15 17:05 19:35
Fri 17:45 19:40; Sat 11:25 14:30 18:15 21:55; Sun 09:50 12:40 17:05 20:00; Mon 12:45 15:10 18:00 21:45; Tue 13:00 15:00 17:20 19:25; Wed 12:15 13:25 17:15 21:35; Thu 12:00 14:10 17:55 21:55
From: Friday 14th November
To: Thursday 20th November
No cinema infomation at the moment
UK and Irish Cinemas Showing Anemone
From: Friday 7th November
To: Thursday 13th November
Fri 20:10; Sat-Thu 11:10 14:10 17:10 20:10
Fri 20:20; Sat-Tue 11:00 (Mon/Tue) 14:20 17:20 (Sat/Sun/Tue) 20:20; Wed/Thu 11:00 14:10 17:10 20:10
Fri-Mon 13:20 (Mon) 19:50; Tue 13:20 19:15; Wed/Thu 14:30 20:00
Fri/Sun 16:00 (Sun) 20:00; Sat 16:10 19:10; Mon/Tue 14:20 17:10 20:00; Wed/Thu 14:10 17:20 20:10
Fri 20:20; Sat-Tue 14:20 17:20 20:20; Wed/Thu 14:10 17:10 20:10
Fri 20:20; Sat-Tue 14:20 (Sat/Sun) 17:20 20:20; Wed/Thu 13:45 16:00 19:45
Fri 20:20; Sat-Tue 14:20 17:20 20:20; Wed/Thu 14:10 17:10 20:10
Fri-Tue 14:20 (Sat-Tue) 20:00; Wed/Thu 14:10 17:10 20:10
Fri 20:20; Sat-Tue 14:20 17:20 20:20; Wed/Thu 11:10 14:10 20:10
Fri/Sat 20:20; Sun 19:40; Mon/Tue 11:00 14:10 17:10 20:20; Wed/Thu 11:00 14:00 16:50 19:40
Fri 20:15; Sat-Tue 14:20 17:20 20:15; Wed/Thu 14:40 20:20
Fri-Tue 13:20 (Mon/Tue) 20:15; Wed/Thu 14:10 20:10
Wed/Thu 14:10 17:10 20:10
Fri-Tue 13:20 (Fri/Mon/Tue) 20:10; Wed/Thu 14:40 20:15
Fri 20:10; Sat-Tue 11:10 (Sat/Sun) 14:10 17:10 20:10; Wed/Thu 14:20 17:20 20:20
Fri 20:10; Sat-Tue 11:10 (Sun) 14:10 17:10 20:10; Wed/Thu 14:00 17:00 20:00
Fri/Sat/Mon-Thu 14:15 (Sat/Mon-Thu) 20:10; Sun 14:20 20:10
Fri 20:20; Sat-Tue 14:20 (Sun-Tue) 14:30 (Sat) 17:20 20:20; Wed/Thu 14:10 17:10 20:10
Fri-Tue 12:45 (Sat-Tue) 20:20; Wed/Thu 12:15 20:20
Sat-Tue 17:00 20:00; Wed 19:30; Thu 19:45
Sat 14:10 20:00; Sun 11:50 17:50; Mon/Tue 15:10 18:10; Wed/Thu 14:20 17:20
Sat-Tue 11:30 (Tue) 16:30 19:30; Wed/Thu 15:00 17:50
Sat-Thu 14:00 (Mon-Wed) 14:10 (Thu) 17:00 20:00
Sat/Sun 11:50 17:50; Mon/Tue 14:50 17:50; Wed/Thu 14:20 17:20
Fri/Sun-Thu 16:50 (Sun-Thu) 19:50; Sat 16:30 19:30
Fri-Tue 17:30 (Sat-Tue) 20:20; Wed/Thu 14:10 20:10
Sat-Tue 13:30 (Tue) 16:30 19:30; Wed/Thu 16:50 19:40
Sat-Tue 16:30 19:30; Wed/Thu 16:40 19:40
Sat-Tue 13:50 16:40 19:30; Wed 13:50 16:50 19:50; Thu 14:40 16:40 19:40
Fri/Sat/Mon/Tue 17:00 (Sat/Mon/Tue) 20:00; Sun 17:50 20:50; Wed/Thu 17:10 20:10
Fri 19:50; Sat-Thu 13:50 16:50 19:50
Fri-Mon 14:10 (Sat-Mon) 20:10; Tue 14:10 17:10; Wed/Thu 12:40 17:50
Odeon Luxe Glasgow Springfield Quay
Sat-Thu 13:50 (Mon-Thu) 16:40 19:30
Sat/Sun 16:40 19:30; Mon 16:40 19:50; Tue 16:40 20:10; Wed/Thu 17:00 19:50
Odeon Manchester Great Northern
Sat-Tue 14:00 (Sat/Sun) 16:45 19:30; Wed/Thu 16:45 19:45
Fri-Mon 17:10 (Sat-Mon) 20:10; Tue 17:50 20:50; Wed 16:50 20:50; Thu 16:30 21:10
Sat-Tue 16:40 19:30; Wed/Thu 16:50 19:50
Fri 20:00; Sat-Wed 14:00 17:00 20:00; Thu 13:50 16:50 19:50
Fri/Tue 16:00 (Tue) 20:30; Sat/Sun 13:45 20:15; Mon 16:30 19:30; Wed 16:45 19:45; Thu 16:40 19:30
Sat-Mon 16:30 19:30; Tue 14:10 17:10; Wed/Thu 14:10 17:50
Sat/Mon/Tue 17:00 20:00; Sun 17:50 20:50; Wed/Thu 17:10 20:10
Showcase Cinema De Lux Bluewater
Sat-Thu 12:50 15:40 18:30 (Mon-Wed) 21:20 (Mon-Thu)
Sat-Thu 12:50 15:40 18:30 21:20
Showcase Cinema De Lux Peterborough
Sat-Thu 12:50 15:40 18:30 (Sat-Mon/Wed/Thu) 21:20 (Wed/Thu)
Showcase Cinema De Lux Reading
Sat-Mon/Wed/Thu 12:50 (Mon/Wed/Thu) 15:40 18:30 21:20; Tue 12:50 15:40 22:20
Showcase Cinema De Lux Southampton
Sat-Mon 15:40 (Sat/Mon) 18:30; Tue 10:30 17:40; Wed 15:40; Thu 13:00
Showcase Cinema De Lux Teesside
Sat-Thu 12:50 15:40 18:30 21:20
Vue Basingstoke Festival Place
Fri 21:10; Sat 11:50 14:25 21:10; Sun 09:30 18:20; Mon 15:35 17:50 19:55; Tue 12:40 19:50; Wed 14:20 17:10 20:00; Thu 15:40 18:30
Fri 21:55; Sat 10:20 11:55 16:05 21:50; Sun 09:10 10:00 16:40 19:05; Mon 13:40 16:10 21:20; Tue 12:35 16:05 18:15 21:55; Wed 12:00 14:15 16:30; Thu 13:20 16:05 21:30
Fri 21:45; Sat 09:35 16:35 23:00; Sun 10:05 16:50 21:40; Mon 12:50 16:30 21:45; Tue 13:25 17:15 20:45; Wed 13:25 16:40 21:40; Thu 16:25 21:15
Fri 22:00; Sat 09:15 16:25 21:15; Sun 09:35 17:20 20:20; Mon 13:00 16:05 21:15; Tue 17:55 20:40; Wed 13:30 17:00 19:45; Thu 13:25 15:00 18:40
Fri 17:05 21:15; Sat 09:00 17:25 21:55; Sun 09:00 17:00 21:15; Mon 13:00 17:15 19:25; Tue 12:40 14:45 16:45 19:30; Wed 13:50 16:15 18:15 21:00; Thu 13:05 16:45 19:00
Fri 21:40 23:15; Sat 09:00 23:30; Sun 09:00 21:55 23:00; Mon 12:05 17:50 21:30; Tue 12:50 15:55 19:10; Wed 12:45 17:55 20:40; Thu 12:40 13:30 19:05
Fri 17:25 18:45 22:20; Sat 10:40 17:00 22:15; Sun 19:15; Mon 13:20 15:50 20:50; Tue 13:45 15:35 19:15; Wed 14:15 16:20 19:40; Thu 14:20 16:45 19:45
Fri 17:25; Sat 09:00 16:10 21:55; Sun 09:15 10:05 17:45 21:20; Mon 12:55 14:55 17:05 19:25; Tue 13:15 14:05 17:40 19:40; Wed 13:35 15:30 17:30 20:40; Thu 12:35 14:30 17:00 21:40
Fri 17:45 21:05; Sat 09:30 17:30 21:00; Sun 09:35 16:30 21:15; Mon 13:40 15:40 17:55 21:10; Tue 12:50 14:50 17:00 19:15; Wed 12:35 16:00 20:30; Thu 13:35 16:10 21:10
Fri 17:35 21:55; Sat 10:55 17:30 20:30; Sun 09:00 17:15 21:15; Mon 15:10 17:25 19:35; Tue 14:10 16:25 18:45 21:15; Wed/Thu 14:00 17:00 (Wed) 17:10 (Thu) 21:55
Fri 17:25 21:40; Sat 09:00 18:35 21:40; Sun 09:00 15:35 21:05; Mon 12:55 16:15 20:05; Tue 13:10 18:45 21:05; Wed 12:50 16:40 19:40; Thu 14:05 16:15 19:10
Fri 17:35 21:45; Sat 12:45 15:30 17:35 21:55; Sun 11:20 14:15 17:30; Mon 13:10 16:15 18:25 21:15; Tue 12:30 18:20 21:55; Wed 15:20 17:05 21:50; Thu 12:25 16:05 20:45
Fri 21:30 22:45; Sun 21:35; Mon 10:45 13:30 15:10 21:30; Tue 12:00 18:30 21:55; Wed 12:25 13:15 20:20; Thu 13:40 17:20 21:45
Fri 17:10; Sat 09:20 16:40 21:50; Sun 10:20 16:45 21:45; Mon 15:50 18:05 21:50; Tue 12:35 16:50 21:55; Wed 12:25 16:15 21:45; Thu 12:55 17:45 21:50
Fri 17:40 21:50; Sat 15:15 18:00 21:20; Sun 11:00 16:20 21:25; Mon 13:30 16:45 21:30; Tue 12:00 15:00 17:10 21:20; Wed 15:25 18:35 21:45; Thu 14:45 17:45 21:40
Fri 21:00; Sat 09:00 11:45 17:25 20:05; Sun 09:00 12:00 18:55 21:40; Mon 12:45 16:00 18:45 21:40; Tue 12:15 14:15 17:25 19:20; Wed 12:45 15:05 17:10 19:25; Thu 12:35 15:05 17:00 19:00
Fri 18:10 21:30; Sat 10:20 16:00 21:15; Sun 18:00 21:00; Mon 13:30 15:40 17:45 21:30; Tue 12:15 14:00 17:00 20:15; Wed 12:45 16:00 18:00; Thu 11:30 15:00 19:00 21:50
Fri 21:45; Sat 09:00 16:10 19:00; Sun 12:00 16:00 21:50; Mon 13:30 17:00 21:25; Tue 13:10 16:30 19:00; Wed 15:05 17:30 21:50; Thu 13:20 17:00 21:45
Fri 17:40 21:00; Sat 11:45 14:40 21:30; Sun 17:00 21:35; Mon 13:30 16:00 21:20; Tue 13:45 16:10 17:55 21:15; Wed 14:00 14:55 19:30; Thu 13:10 14:15 21:35
Fri 18:15 21:40; Sat 09:55 14:15 18:15 21:45; Sun 09:10 13:30 17:00 21:30; Mon 12:15 14:15 17:45 21:35; Tue 12:05 15:35 17:15 19:15; Wed 13:20 15:40 17:35 21:55; Thu 13:45 16:20 18:20
Fri 17:15 19:15; Sat 11:00 13:00 17:15 21:10; Sun 11:35 17:35 21:10; Mon 15:45 17:45 20:20; Tue 14:45 16:45 18:50 21:05; Wed 15:05 17:55 21:45; Thu 15:00 17:15 21:35
Fri 21:50; Sat 14:45 16:45 21:10; Sun 12:00 18:55 21:40; Mon 15:05 17:20 20:00; Tue 14:40 16:55 21:45; Wed 12:50 16:00 20:50; Thu 13:45 16:15 21:45
Fri 21:40 23:45; Sat 12:25 00:00; Sun 09:00 12:15 21:40; Mon 15:15 17:30 21:35; Tue 12:40 15:30 21:30; Wed 13:15 15:45 21:55; Thu 15:35 16:55 21:45
Fri 17:30 22:40; Sat 09:00 16:45 21:40; Sun 09:40 17:45 19:50; Mon 15:50 21:40; Wed 13:15 17:50 21:40; Thu 13:35 16:00 21:45
From: Friday 14th November
To: Thursday 20th November
No cinema infomation at the moment
