Daniel Day-Lewis (left) stars as Ray and Sean Bean (right) stars as Jem in filmmaker Ronan Day-Lewis’ “Anemone” (Photo Credit: Courtesy of Focus Features)
(“Anemone” trailer courtesy of Focus Features)
People often say that a person’s adult behavior traces back to their childhood experiences.
Those who grew up in a loving home will often display a caring attitude towards others.
On the contrary, those from broken homes will sometimes remain broken and may break others if they do not face the pain and problems of their past, so they can move forward and prosper.
In the slow-paced film “Anemone,” the sins of the father become the sins of the son and the grandson when past hurt and trauma are not dealt with appropriately and promptly.
When an able-bodied person retreats from civilized life, there is often something dramatic that has occurred in their past.
In “Anemone,” Ray (Daniel Day-Lewis, “Lincoln”) has totally cut himself off from the rest of the world.
He lives in the woods.
He has none of the modern luxuries or technologies.
It is as if he has chosen to live by 19th-century standards, while the rest of the world revels in the advances of the 21st century.
When someone approaches his very humble abode, he views it as a threat and gets a weapon just to be sure that he is safe before opening the door.
On one such visit when Ray realizes it is just his brother Jem (Sean Bean, “The Martian”), he reluctantly welcomes the unusual guest to his primitive home.
The initial moments reunited with his brother are just as uncomfortable for Jem as it was to find him in the middle of the woods.
In “Anemone,” Ray does not have a traditional home address.
He has coordinates on an atlas that Jem is only allowed to use in case of an emergency.
Except for the awkward silence that comes with Jem and Ray’s unwanted reunion, the two eventually behave like typical brothers, play-fighting and roasting each other.
But Jem has not visited to have fun and reminisce.
Jem has come to Ray’s home to get him to return home, as in his family’s house, because there is an emergency that only he can help with.
While Ray’s decision to move to the woods is to get away from the real world, he has some specific things he is trying to avoid.
In “Anemone,” Ray is trying to get away from his actions in life.
He is trying to get away from past abuse.
Ray is trying to run from who he is.
But who Ray is cannot change unless he learns to accept the wrongs others did to him, while not allowing himself to hurt others in the same way.
The problem that Ray faces is the same problem that Brian (Samuel Bottomley) is facing.
Unfortunately, some problems cannot be fixed.
But running from the problem can often make a bad situation much worse.
Brian is currently running from a predicament.
But if anyone can understand his plight and prevent him from doing so, it is Ray.
In “Anemone,” Brian joins the military like Jem and Ray.
But like Ray and his grandfather, he has anger issues and a short temper, which could lead his life down a tragic road.
Although Ray abandoned his family long ago, Nessa (Samantha Morton, “The Whale”) attempts to maintain communication with the hermit Ray because she sees so much of Ray in Brian.
Although Nessa wants Ray to have a relationship with Brian, the youngster does not want him in his life because he already has a good father in Jem.
While Ray has always been the black sheep and troublemaker in the family, Jem has been the calming influence.
In “Anemone,” Jem is a great partner to Nessa.
He is a great provider for the family.
More importantly, he is a great role model for Brian.
As a result, what can Ray bring to the family dynamic that they do not already have?
In fact, what if Ray’s dysfunction causes Brian to become more dysfunctional?
Regardless, sometimes understanding a family’s complete history, which includes the good, the bad and the ugly, can help a person better understand themselves.
But the key to gaining that understanding is realizing that just because a family member does something or has a negative personality trait, it does not mean that the next generation must follow in those same footsteps.
In “Anemone,” Jem is a great example of that reality.
He did not deal with as much dysfunction as Ray did outside of the home.
But he was raised the same way by the same people.
In fact, he has the same capabilities of going down a dark road in life because of his genealogy.
However, life is about choices.
And a person’s family tree does not make decisions for them.
The individual does.
The question is, will Brian decide to be more like Jem or Ray?
And can Ray make enough of a difference, if he returns home, to help Brian down the right path as a young adult?
The dilemma that the characters in “Anemone” face is very important.
But the way “Anemone” comes across is not compelling enough.
Day-Lewis is exceptional as one should expect.
But even with Day-Lewis’ brilliant talent, “Anemone” is still rather bland.
That is unfortunate, too, because the grandfather-father-son dynamic is a unique one that deserves attention.
However, “Anemone” does not make enough noise for the movie to capture the attention of the public.
REGAL RATINGS
FOUR CROWNS=EXCELLENT
THREE CROWNS=GOOD
TWO CROWNS=AVERAGE
ONE CROWN=POOR
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