Film Review: ANNIVERSARY (2025): Jan Komasa’s Film is Riveting and Powerful Thanks to a Thought-Provoking Premise

Anniversary Review

Anniversary (2025) Film Review, a movie directed by Jan Komasa, written by Lori Rosene-Gambino and Jan Komasa and starring Diane Lane, Kyle Chandler, Madeline Brewer, Zoey Deutch, Phoebe Dynevor, Dylan O’Brien, Mckenna Grace, Daryl McCormack, Selda Kaya, Sky Yang, Flavia Watson, Maya O’Shea, Rebecca O’Mara, Kaja Chan, Jolly Abraham and Paul Tylak.

Filmmaker Jan Komasa hits the nail right on the head with Anniversary, a disturbing, thought-provoking and probing vision of a future America that could come into fruition if the country isn’t careful. While it may feel exaggerated in the moment while watching it, the possibility of events changing the whole foundation that our country was based upon could easily come true without caution. Komasa has a terrific cast that helps tell the powerful story of a family torn apart by politics and by a chain of devastating events that become nerve-wracking in their excesses.

Diane Lane stars in the film as the female head of the household the movie presents. She portrays the smart, educated and opinionated Ellen Taylor who is married to Paul (Kyle Chandler), a restaurant owner who does everything in the name of love to protect his family. Their world is quickly turned upside down on their anniversary when their one-time ambitious writer son, Josh (Dylan O’Brien), brings home Liz Nettles (Phoebe Dynevor), the love of his life. Liz is a distinguished author and is the founder of a political movement called “The Change” which negates the two-party system and creates new, potentially dangerous, yet optimistic implementations that would possibly flip the country as we know it on its back.

Ellen and Paul have three intelligent daughters, Anna (Madeline Brewer), Cynthia (the ever-talented Zoey Deutch) and the much younger Birdie (Mckenna Grace). Anna is a comic unafraid of sharing her controversial opinions with the public, Cynthia is in the law field and Birdie is studying science and biology in school which she plans to do something with as a career. Cynthia has a man in her life, Rob Thompson (Daryl McCormack), and later in the picture, Birdie meets a nice guy named Moses (Sky Yang) who Josh unfairly shakes to the core when Moses admits his goal is to study journalism.

It’s hard to discuss the logistics of the plot without major spoilers, but the film carries viewers through several years in the life of this family construct and, each year, things get progressively worse until things have spiraled way beyond repair. In the new order that takes America by storm, Anna’s politics are enough to make her flee society as she ends up banished and missing in action. The birth of Liz and Josh’s twins complicate the family dynamic considerably as it seems that conflicting viewpoints and politics further advance an already bleak situation for Ellen and Paul to the brink of insanity. Ellen’s own volatile politics are captured on CNN as she takes action against a new American flag that shames her credibility to some.

This movie is certainly dialogue driven in its early stages and the writing is razor-sharp. This picture thrives on detailed political observations and examines complex issues with great intelligence. On top of that fact, the performances are all top-notch with not one false choice in the casting. Diane Lane is particularly haunting as a mother torn by grief. Chandler is on-point as the father who loves his kids and has sacrificed a lot to keep a roof over all their heads.

Also, another highlight of the film is the quality of the supporting performances which are full of emotions. Daryl McCormack takes top honors as Cynthia’s lover who suffers immensely when she decides to make a difficult choice regarding the future of her pregnancy. McCormack has one scene that will tear the viewer to pieces with its brutal sadness that the actor ably brings to the part. Brewer is also emotionally devastating in the portrayal of her banished sister character. Deutch and Grace more than hold their own in this superlative cast, creating three-dimensional characters.

As for the less likable characters, Josh and Liz, O’Brien and Dynevor are both bone-chilling and intense in their formidable presences within the picture. O’Brien is perfectly frustrating in several instances such as when his character tries to buy a share in his dad’s business to help the father overcome financial difficulty. Dynevor goes back and forth between several different emotions and comes up aces in a perfectly layered performance.

When the U.S. Census Bureau in the new order comes to visit the family household, Chandler is excellent in a scene that almost single-handedly makes the movie one that is a must see. Chandler brings complexity and frustration to the scene that he captures to perfection. While the film is certainly going to make viewers think hard about their own politics and their families, it is also bleak, but not without purpose. Anniversary is about the failure to acknowledge discrepancies in both political and family values. It is an analysis of what could happen if action is not taken to prevent a political transformation by those who have the power to change the status of the country forever.

Anniversary is one of the best movies of the year. It is believable and disturbing in such a way that it will get under your skin and stay there for quite some time. I’m tempted to call it science-fiction, but the fact that the whole state of the country can change in a heartbeat prevents me from doing so. This is a film with impeccable acting and frightening plot developments that hit close to home. It’s a masterful portrait of the downfall of a family which couldn’t survive as a unit under any conditions without cutting ties with key members. It’s the premise itself that is brilliant, but the wonderful acting elevates the material to beyond perfect.

Rating: 10/10

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