Daniel Day-Lewis' 2025 Movie On Netflix Flew Under Everyone's Radar
Daniel Day-Lewis works infrequently these days, so it should be an event when arguably our greatest living actor deigns to grace us with his thespian genius in a new movie. And yet last year's "Anemone," his first film in eight years, not only bombed theatrically, but it generated nary a hint of awards buzz before quietly making its way to Netflix.
Day-Lewis had a rock-solid reason to return to acting. He co-wrote the screenplay with his 27-year-old son Ronan Day-Lewis, who also made his directorial debut on the movie. Before you level charges of nepotism against him (though he doesn't care), keep in mind that Ronan's mother is writer-director Rebecca Miller. This means his grandfather is playwriting god Arthur Miller (Daniel and Rebecca actually met while the former was making Nicholas Hytner's underrated adaptation of "The Crucible"). With that kind of artistic bloodline, you'd have to work awfully hard not to get drawn into the family business.
Interestingly, "Anemone" is a drama about family. Daniel stars as Ray, a reclusive Irish Army veteran who left his wife, Nessa (Samantha Morton), when she gave birth to their son, Brian (Samuel Bottomley). Ray's brother Jem (Sean Bean) stepped up after his departure, marrying Nessa and raising Brian, who, unsurprisingly, wants nothing to do with his birth father. This is all bound to come to a head because Brian has deserted the Army after seriously injuring a fellow soldier in a fight. Unable to reach Brian, Nessa writes a letter asking Ray to talk to their son. Jem delivers it to Ray, and that's when the acting fireworks go off.
Given the dynamite trio of Day-Lewis, Morton, and Bean, "Anemone" should've been a must-see. So how did it come and go so quickly?
Critics were widely split on Daniel Day-Lewis' return to acting in Anemone
"Anemone" made its world premiere at last September's New York Film Festival, and reviews were all over the place. There were raves, mehs, and outright pans. /Film's Jeremy Mathai was squarely in the rave camp on "Anemone," yet others treated the film as an overwrought abomination.
As expected, there were critics who walked into the movie skeptical that Ronan Day-Lewis had earned his shot at directing a feature film, and, lo and behold, that bias done got confirmed! Focus Features likely went into the fall figuring they'd be campaigning for Daniel's seventh Academy Award nomination, but it was such a competitive year in the Best Actor category that he couldn't get a foothold. Fortunately, he isn't motivated by Oscar recognition (though he does campaign more than you might think), so this isn't the kind of thing that'll turn him off of acting. If he wants to work, he'll work.
Maybe Paul Thomas Anderson, Martin Scorsese, or Steven Spielberg are cooking up something for Day-Lewis. Or perhaps he's got another project he'd like to make with Ronan. All I know is that Daniel Day-Lewis will always be worth watching – unless that movie is Rob Marshall's misbegotten adaptation of the musical "Nine."