![‘The Testament Of Ann Lee’ Review: A Divine Amanda Seyfried Shines In Mona Fastvold’s Musical Parable [Venice]](https://cdn.theplaylist.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/06094854/TTAL_PULL_775_adjusted.jpg "‘The Testament Of Ann Lee’ Review: A Divine Amanda Seyfried Shines In Mona Fastvold’s Musical Parable [Venice]")
For a film about a visionary who turned devotion into song and movement, it makes sense that the music steps out of the frame as well. “The Testament of Ann Lee” now has its own original hymn of sorts in “Clothed By The Sun,” an end-credits song written by Daniel Blumberg and performed by Amanda Seyfried, and it’s being showcased in an exclusive live performance.
“Clothed by the Sun” plays over the credits of “The Testament of Ann Lee,” which follows the extraordinary true legend of Ann Lee, founder of the Shakers, a devotional sect rooted in gender and social equality. Written and directed by Mona Fastvold (whose previous work includes directing “The World to Come” and co-writing/co-producing “The Brutalist”) from a screenplay by Fastvold and Brady Corbet, the film casts Seyfried as the Shakers’ irrepressible leader, revered by her followers as she struggles to build a utopian community. The movie features more than a dozen traditional Shaker hymns reimagined as rapturous movement pieces, choreographed by Celia Rowlson-Hall (“Vox Lux”), alongside original songs and a score by Blumberg.
“Clothed by the Sun” is positioned as the original song counterpart to that larger musical and choreographic tapestry. It also arrives on the heels of a major career milestone for Blumberg: he won the Best Original Score Oscar last year for “The Brutalist.” Before his recent film work, Blumberg played in the bands Yuck and Cajun Dance Party and released solo records on labels like Mute and ATP Recordings. In cinema, he previously scored “The World to Come” for Fastvold and has composed music for Agnès Varda, Peter Strickland, and Brady Corbet; pre- “The Brutalist,” he also worked under the name GUO, a collaboration with saxophonist Seymour Wright.
“The Testament of Ann Lee” co-stars Thomasin McKenzie, Lewis Pullman, Stacy Martin, Matthew Beard, Scott Handy, Viola Prettejohn, Jamie Bogyo, David Calewith, Tim Blake Nelson, and Christopher Abbott, and is being released in 70mm in select theaters on December 25, 2025. “Clothed by the Sun,” sung by Seyfried and written by Blumberg, slots into that release as the film’s original song signature, extending its Shaker-inspired world into a standalone performance.
Watch a live performance of the song below.
Rodrigo Perez is the founder and editor-in-chief of The Playlist, which he launched in 2008. He has worked in entertainment journalism since 2000, including at MTV, and has written for SPIN, IndieWire, Pitchfork, Complex, Magnet, and various music, film, and entertainment publications over the past two decades.
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