ANNIVERSARY
(director/writer: Jan Komasa; screenwriter: Lori Rosene-Gambling; cinematographer: Piotr Sobonciski Jr.; editor: Michal Czamecki; music: Danny Bensi, Saunder Jurriaans; cast: Diane Lane (Ellen Taylor), Kyle Chandler (Paul Taylor), Phoebe Dynevor (Liz Nettles), Dylan O’Brien (Josh Taylor), Madeline Brewer (Anna), Zoey Deutch (Cynthia), McKenna Grace (Birdie), Daryl McCormack (Rob), Carl Austin (Senator Coyle), Phelim Drew (Senator Hunt), Sky Yang (Moses Ho, Birdie’s boyfriend); Runtime: 112; MPAA Rating: R; producer : Nick W echsler, Steven Schwartz, Paula Mae Schwartz, Kate Churchill; Lionsgate; 2025-English, German)
“A heavy-handed plot.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Polish filmmaker Jan Komasa (“Good Boy”/”The Hater”) directs and co-writes this satirical and provocative political soap opera drama involving a family facing an ethical crisis over the current heated political climate. Komasa co-writes it with Lori Rosene-Gambling.
Ellen (Diane Lane) and Paul Taylor (Kyle Chandler) are celebrating their 25th anniversary with a party in their suburban Washington D.C./Maryland residence in a backyard party with their four grown children and around 50 other guests. She’s an outspoken progressive-minded political science professor at Georgetown University. He’s a non-confrontational chef who owns a thriving D.C. restaurant that’s frequented by the city’s political elites.
Their tense daughter Cynthia (Zoey Deutch) arrives with her public image-minded husband Rob (Daryl McCormack), who are both environmentalist lawyers in an unhappy marriage over her not wanting to raise a family.
Their popular stand-up comedian daughter Anna (Madeline Brewer) is an outspoken leftist, a feminist and a lesbian.
Their struggling author son Josh (Dylan O’Brien) arrives with his new girlfriend, Liz Nettles (Phoebe Dynevor). She was once a university student in Ellen’s class, whose extremist right-wing political views got her bounced from the university. Liz gives Ellen an advanced copy of her book The Change, sponsored by a corporation that urges getting rid of the two-party system for a single-party system.
Also present is their 17-year-old aspiring scientist student daughter Birdie (Mckenna Grace), who still lives at home.
The film follows what happens to the country and the family in the next five years (from 2024-2029). Liz will marry into the family, her hubby will follow her fascist beliefs, and the family will become divisive like the country. Meanwhile, Liz’s book will become a best-seller.
Politics divide both the country and the family, as the opposing sides clash and both the family and country suffer. There’s a push to replace democracy with fascist rule (checkout Trump’s MAGA movement for their similar fascist policies in the real world).
The film had too many subplots to follow and a heavy-handed plot. I wanted to like it more than I did and wished it had a more credible ending. Though in its favor, it gets reasonably good performances out of its ensemble cast. Lane gives a solid performance and there’s an intriguing energetic villain performance from O’Brien.
REVIEWED ON 11/15/2025 GRADE: B-
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