Day-Lewis Dances Back to the Screen in ‘Anemone’

After eight years off the silver screen, Hollywood's legendary actor, Daniel Day-Lewis, has dusted off his acting boots with the release of ‘Anemone.’ In the years since his retirement, much like rock stars who never really fade away (ahem, David Bowie), Day-Lewis's talent hasn't lost a beat.

Now at the age of 68, Day-Lewis encapsulates the essence of Ray, a mysterious hermit living in a cabin tucked away in the woodlands of Northern England. Ray carries more than his fair share of hidden skeletons-not unlike the plot of a mid-range art-house film from the '90s, if you catch our drift.

‘Anemone,’ a title as intriguing and layered as its lead, is scant on chatter but rich in storytelling, with Ray shedding light on his shadowy past through intense monologues. In one of them, we're left slack-jawed as he graphically recounts a vulgar act of revenge against a priest from his childhood. Day-Lewis dives headfirst into this near-unbearable scene with all the twisted glee he can muster, making us incredulously cringe and beg for more all at once.

After catching our breaths, we find ourselves back in Ray's cabin, where a bitter family reunion is brewing-brother Jem (Sean Bean) makes his appearance, and we're left waiting for the dust to settle. We sit, pry, and probe with the two brothers in a deliciously tense dance of silence, sarcasm, and a few rock 'n’ roll moves tossed in for good measure.

Over his illustrious career, Day-Lewis has delivered performances that garnered him legend status ("My Left Foot," "Lincoln," "There Will Be Blood," just to name a few) and some roles that were, let’s say, less than snowy. This performance definitely swings closer to the latter. Is it maybe him stepping back to let 'Anemone' shine a light on his son, Ronan Day-Lewis? After all, seeing the acting titan break his retirement to champion his offspring’s maiden voyage into the world of film directing is quite a highlight.

That being said, even with the Day-Lewis dynasty thrown in, 'Anemone' falls a little flat-packed with artsy scenes and melancholic indie tracks but short on the drama. However, there are some promising sparks of young talent. Ronan Day-Lewis exhibits a seasoned eye for frame composition, deftly leveraging his father's screen presence.

Also, the father-son dynamic finds its way into the film's plot as Jem pleads with Ray to end his self-enforced solitude-an almost poetic reference to Daniel Day-Lewis's real-life sabbaticals to master shoemaking and carpentry.

From revenge tales to war crime accusations to familial revelations, 'Anemone' juggles a lot and firm answers seem hard to come by. To conclude, though 'Anemone' doesn't quite corral all of its namesake flower's symbolisms, it's a contemplative venture with enough intrigue to keep you guessing-just as we love to do with the enigmatic return of Daniel Day-Lewis.