The Testament of Ann Lee

You don’t have to subscribe to her beliefs to admire The Testament of Ann Lee, an epic drama of internal strife and religious liberation that’s both stunningly ambitious and highly uneven.

This captivating musical biopic about the founder of the obscure Shakers religious sect from Norwegian filmmaker Mona Fastvold (The World to Come) probes self-discovery, gender roles, mental illness, and maternal instincts — supplemented by elaborately choreographed, gospel-infused folk songs.

It benefits from a fully committed performance by Amanda Seyfried (Mank) as a woman who finds strength in her vulnerability and discovers her voice within a culture of rigid patriarchal oppression.

Emerging from a volatile childhood in an 18th century British Quaker family, Ann deepens her evangelism through her suffering, almost unaware that she really yearns to break free from her blind devotion.

She begins piecing together her own spiritual ideals through fringe doctrines filtered through her own grief after a series of troubled pregnancies stemming from her marriage to a blacksmith (Christopher Abbott).

That strengthens her commitment to celibacy and the resolve to reject her husband’s carnal desires. Frustrated, he turns to the bottle and threatens separation. “No one can please God by following the lust of the flesh,” she reasons.

She gradually gains acolytes, including her brother (Lewis Pullman) and an impressionable young woman (Thomasin McKenzie), willing to relocate to America to start a commune rooted in peaceful self-sufficiency.

Along the way, Ann becomes a target, accused of witchcraft, treason, and more. As her followers grow, so does her need to be resilient in the face of intimidation and threats.

Although initially awkward, the musical numbers add appropriate texture, evolving into anthems of empowerment and defiance as she draws criticism and becomes more outspoken.

The script by Fastvold and Brady Corbet (The Brutalist) — her frequent collaborator and partner — somewhat awkwardly tries to balance contempt with open-minded curiosity while probing the eccentricities of organized belief systems.

The visually striking film captures both the beauty and the bleakness of its setting, including some meticulously detailed sets and costumes.

Seyfried generates hard-earned sympathy as Ann confronts her crisis of faith, even if the film as a whole never confronts its own broader moral ambiguity while diving deeper into her conflicted soul.

The Testament of Ann Lee is intense and not for all tastes. Like its title character, it often succeeds on sheer vision and will.

Rated R, 137 minutes.