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On Wednesday, actors Amanda Seyfried and Lewis Pullman joined Good Morning America to discuss their new musical film, The Testament of Ann Lee. During the conversation, the duo shared their experience filming the movie and the unique way it showcases the history of the Shaker movement.
“It’s a musical, but it’s not,” Seyfried explained. “There’s nothing like this movie anywhere. You can’t compare it to anything.” In the film, Seyfried stars as Mother Anne Lee, the founder of the religious group. Followers were known for their jaunty musical worship during religious services, with gestating movement and guttural vocalizations.
“It’s different from singing. It’s vocalizing from a different place in your body,” said Seyfried. “[During] some of these dance sequences when we were shooting, I was euphoric at times because we were hot and we had been dancing for hours. The Shakers would dance for days on end, worshiping.” Watch the full interview, where Pullman spoke about singing on screen for the first time in the movie.
The Testament of Ann Lee is directed by The Brutalist’s Mona Fasvold and Brady Corbet. The music was inspired by historical Shaker hymns, which have been reimagined into ecstatic “movements” by composer Blumberg. The final sound mix is a combination of studio recordings and live singing from Seyfried and the cast.
The movie also stars Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Christopher Abbott, Tim Blake Nelson, Stacy Martin, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Viola Prettejohn, David Cale, and Jamie Bogyo. It will arrive in theaters on December 25, 2025.
The Testament of Ann Lee had its world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival on September 1, 2025, and was also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. For its theatrical release in December, attendees will have the chance to watch a 70mm cut in select theaters.
