Anniversary (2025)
Directed by: Jan Komasa
Premise: An upper-class liberal family is disrupted when their son begins dating an activist and author (Phoebe Dynevor) whose book is the basis of a right-wing political movement.
What Works: Anniversary is a dystopian tale of a liberal family overwhelmed by a rising neo-fascist political movement. It would be easy to portray the family as virtuous and principled in contrast to cruel authoritarianism but the filmmakers opt to make these people flawed. Anniversary is led by Diane Lane as an Ivy League college professor who is the matriarch of her family. Lane’s character may be philosophically correct but she is also difficult and rude. The opening sequence establishes the family in similar terms. They are insular, passive aggressive, and gossipy.
What Doesn’t: Anniversary comes at a time when neo-fascist political ideology is gaining traction. The film is clearly intended to comment on our historical and cultural moment but it falls far short. Anniversary is a political movie that omits all the politics and in doing so guts the characters and the drama of any substance. The story begins with Josh (Dylan O’Brien) introducing Elizabeth (Phoebe Dynevor) to his family. Elizabeth is a right-wing author and a former student of Ellen, a liberal college professor played by Diane Lane. Ellen summarizes Elizabeth’s politics in broad strokes but we don’t get any meaningful demonstration of what anyone actually believes. They don’t really talk about anything and more importantly the characters don’t act out their beliefs. Instead, Anniversary is mostly a series of awkward dinner table scenes. Elizabeth has destabilized the liberal home but they could be upset about anything. Anniversary has a large cast and everyone has their own subplot but no one gets enough screen time. One of Josh’s sisters (Madeline Brewer) is a successful standup comic. She’s never funny and the performance clips are too short. Another sister (Zoey Deutch) suffers from depression and the youngest sibling (Mckenna Grace) is gradually radicalized. No one has any depth or character arc. The political transformation of the nation is also nondescript. The story takes place over several years and voiceover summarizes the changes but we don’t actually see anything. There are no story beats dramatizing the change. The lack of action or meaningful conflict makes Anniversary a slog. Matters aren’t helped by the dialogue and performances. There is no wit to the film and everyone speaks in a low monotone voice. The film is also ugly. The imagery throughout is tinted with a murky grey filter that obscures details and is unpleasant to view.
Bottom Line: Anniversary is a clumsy attempt at political commentary. The concept might have worked as a television series but this film is simultaneously overstuffed and hollow. There’s no substance to it. For a movie intended to be politically provocative, Anniversary is just boring.
Episode: #1073 (November 9, 2025)