Anniversary
"Anniversary" is a flawed film for flawed times.
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Polish director Jan Komasa’s “Anniversary” (now playing in select theaters) is a political thriller with a lot on its mind and is likely to be divisive.
We open at the 25th wedding anniversary party of Ellen (Diane Lane) and Paul Taylor (Kyle Chandler). She’s a progressive political science professor at Georgetown University and he’s a restauranteur who serves D.C.’s power brokers. They’re joined in celebration by their four children – edgy comedienne Anna (Madeline Brewer), environmental lawyer Cynthia (Zoey Deutch), struggling sci-fi author Josh (Dylan O’Brien) and high school science geek Birdie (Mckenna Grace, busy between this and last week’s “Regretting You”).
Also attending the party is Josh’s new girlfriend Liz Nettles (Phoebe Dynevor), a former student of Ellen’s who was ostracized for her radical thesis to the point that she ultimately withdrew from school. Liz is on the precipice of publishing an extended version of her dissertation entitled “The Change: A New Social Compact.” Liz passive-aggressively gifts Ellen an advance copy of the book as an anniversary present as if to stake her claim on Josh and place a schism within the rest of the Taylor family.
“Anniversary” is structured in such a way that we pick back up with the Taylors once a year on their anniversary over the course of five years to see not only how clan has changed but the county as a whole as well.
“Anniversary” as directed by Komasa and scripted by newbie scribe Lori Rosene-Gambino is talky and interesting. It’s well-cast (it’s cool to see Deutch and O’Brien reunited after 2022’s “The Outfit” and “Not Okay,” there’s a two-hander of a scene between Chandler and O’Brien that proved particularly memorable and it’s deliciously fun to see Lane’s Ellen understandably get her claws and fangs out) and they make it an entertaining enough watch. I do wish Rosene-Gambino’s script delved further into the content of “The Change,” but we’re privy to the idea of it consisting of one centralized party and eventually see that it’s dangerous to speak out against said party.
“Anniversary” is a tad over the top (it’s pretty laughable when a character shows up in a clown costume late in the picture; O’Brien also seems to be amusingly imitating his “The Internship” co-star Vince Vaughn (right down to the haircut) as Josh becomes progressively more conservative), but we also live in over the top times. Of all the Spooky Season offerings I’ve watched this October, “Anniversary” (despite not being a horror movie on its face) may very well be the scariest. It’s a flawed film for flawed times.