Anniversary
Diane Lane heads a stellar ensemble in a gripping and prophetic family drama.
Family business: Madeline Brewer, Dylan O’Brien, Phoebe Dynevor and Paul Tylak
Image courtesy of Lionsgate.
by JAMES CAMERON-WILSON
It’s the silver wedding anniversary of Paul and Ellen Taylor. He’s a successful restaurateur, she’s a top academic at Georgetown University. It’s a beautiful day and the Taylors’ large garden in Virginia is the perfect setting for the festivities, with Paul and Ellen’s four grown-up children and their close circle of friends (“the usual suspects”) in attendance. As Ellen (Diane Lane) embarks on her after-dinner speech, she turns to her husband (Kyle Chandler) and declares, “my greatest happiness in life is being your wife.” It’s a suitable sentiment to share on a wedding anniversary, but when Ellen turns to her children and includes them in her affection, only her son, Josh (Dylan O’Brien), returns a half-hearted “we love you, Mom.” Of course, it’s all far too good to be true.
Jan Komasa’s film opens on a note of celebration as his various characters are introduced – although, perhaps fittingly, the first person we see is Elizabeth Nettles (Phoebe Dynevor), rehearsing a speech in front of the mirror. She is Josh’s fiancée and is determined to make a good impression, although the initial introduction does not entirely go to plan. It would be unfair to give too much away, but at the start Anniversary feels like the first chapter in a long-running miniseries. There are so many characters, so many subplots meticulously being laid. And there’s more than a touch of Chekhov at the heart of the film, not just because it is about three sisters.
We first see Ellen Taylor delivering a lecture at Georgetown, quoting the great Russian dramatist who talked about, “the pain that arises when people who have clung to their habits and their delusions are forced to confront a reality that contradicts their worldview.” “Does that sound familiar to anyone in here?” she asks her students.
Minutes later, Ellen is waylaid by a fellow academic, concerned that the colleges of the Ivy League are being seen as “bastions for radicalised liberalism.” Ellen has no time for this, retorting, “we are not Ivy League.” The trouble with films about America today, and in particular about American politics, is that the daily headlines are pre-empting any script written even just a year ago. However, Lori Rosene-Gambino’s screenplay does feel chillingly prescient as the comfortable façade of the Taylor household begins to feel like a microcosm of what is happening in the US now.
The Polish director Jan Komasa skilfully turns the tropes of soap opera into scenes of electric tension as the happy family dynamic begins to reveal its mortal cracks. Komasa has rounded up a wonderful cast, with Diane Lane blending high intelligence with bursts of Greek tragedy, while Kyle Chandler, initially channelling George Clooney, loses his grip on the role of the omnipotent patriarch. But it is Dylan O’Brien, who is on something of a winning streak at present, who introduces a nicely understated masterclass in benign malevolence. The impressive female ensemble – Phoebe Dynevor, Zoey Deutch, Madeline Brewer and Mckenna Grace – are all note perfect, too. Look away now if you feel a sense of plot spoilage, but at its most potent, Anniversary feels like the domestic counterpoint to Alex Garland’s Civil War. And that’s no small compliment.
Cast: Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Madeline Brewer, Zoey Deutch, Phoebe Dynevor, Mckenna Grace, Daryl McCormack, Dylan O’Brien, Flavia Watson, Selda Kaya, Sky Yang, Paul Tylak, Rebecca O'Mara, Kaja Chan.
Dir Jan Komasa, Pro Nick Wechsler, Steve Schwartz, Paula Mae Schwartz and Kate Churchill, Screenplay Lori Rosene-Gambino, Ph Piotr Sobociński Jr, Pro Des Lucy van Lonkhuyzen, Ed Michał Czarnecki, Music Danny Bensi and Saunder Jurriaans, Costumes Lorna Marie Mugan, Dialect coaches Russel Smith, Cathal Quinn, Jessica Drake and Adam Micheal Rose.
Fifth Season/Chockstone Pictures/Churchill Films/Metropolitan Films International-Lionsgate/Netflix.
111 mins. USA. 2025. UK and US Rel: 29 October 2025. Cert. 15.
