For film journalist Ann Lee, the past year has been a uniquely surreal experience, defined by a flurry of amused text messages and a sudden, profound connection to Hollywood. The cause? A prestigious new musical film titled The Testament of Ann Lee, starring Oscar-nominated actress Amanda Seyfried and directed by Mona Fastvold.
A Name in Lights
The messages from friends began over a year ago, gleefully pointing out that her "beige" name was receiving top billing in a major motion picture. The film is a vibrant musical about the 18th-century leader of the Shaker religious movement, a woman who fled humble beginnings in Manchester to forge a new life in America based on faith, celibacy, and radical gender equality. "I was genuinely amused and excited," Lee writes. "For most of my life Ann Lee had seemed the beigest of names."
Previously, a Google search of her name yielded little beyond a 1990s Eurodance singer. Now, the results are dominated by pages about the film, tipped for Oscar consideration. "It's clear this Ann Lee will now be seen as the definitive one," she notes, with a mix of wry observation and personal fascination.
From 'Ham Lee' to Hollywood
The peculiarities of sharing a famous name are not new to Lee. As a film journalist, she has endured years of people jokingly asking if she is the acclaimed director Ang Lee. More routinely, her simple name is often misspelt as 'Anne' or mistaken for 'Anna'. She recalls a particularly memorable incident where a receptionist heard her name as "Ham Lee".
This made the moment she attended a preview screening and Q&A with Seyfried and Fastvold all the more striking. Seeing her own name—the one she's written since childhood—plastered across the screen in giant letters was a thrill. "It was hard not to get a kick out of seeing that same name now celebrated on such a large scale," she admits. "Even though the film is about someone else, the name still belongs to me."
A Ferocious Portrayal and Personal Reflection
Lee was swept away by the film's "animalistic fervour", thundering dance sequences, and rousing songs by composer Daniel Blumberg. She praises Seyfried's ferocious performance as 'Mother Ann', a woman who channeled her disgust for sex into ecstatic, physical worship and founded a celibate sect. Lee was ultimately relieved that "my film, as I had started to call it, was actually good", sparing her name association with a notorious flop.
The experience led her to ponder others who share names with famous characters, from the late John Wick—whose grandson named Keanu Reeves's hitman after him—to actor Michael B. Jordan, who grew up in the shadow of a basketball legend. Jordan's reflection resonated: "Your name is important... I wanted to be great at something."
With the real Ann Lee hailed by Fastvold as "the first American feminist", the journalist wonders if this namesake will spur her to greater things. The Testament of Ann Lee is released in UK cinemas on 20 February. For now, the definitive Ann Lee may be the Shaker leader on screen, but as the writer concludes, there is still time to forge her own path—an aspiration she believes her historical namesake would have approved.
