What is Daniel Day-Lewis's upcoming Anemone movie about? Details explored

Daniel Day-Lewis returns to acting with Anemone, his first feature film since 2017’s Phantom Thread. The film will be directed by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis, in his feature directorial debut, and co-written by both father and son.

Produced by Brad Pitt’s Plan B Productions and distributed by Focus Features, Anemone is scheduled to premiere at the New York Film Festival, which runs from September 26 to October 13, 2025. It will be followed by a limited theatrical release on October 3, 2025, followed by a wider release on October 10, 2025.

Anemone is set in Northern England and follows two brothers who were previously involved in British paramilitary activity in Northern Ireland. The film focuses on their reunion after years of estrangement. As recently reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the official description calls it:

“An absorbing family drama … about lives undone by seemingly irreconcilable legacies of political and personal violence … bonded by a mysterious, complicated past, the men share a fraught, if occasionally tender relationship — one that was forever altered by shattering events decades earlier.”

The trailer shows Ray Stoker (Daniel Day-Lewis) living in isolation in the woods, reflecting on his past, while Sean Bean’s character attempts to reconnect. Ray says:

“All these years, the isolation. This is it. This is my life.”

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Anemone: A story of estranged brothers

A still from the movie (Image via YouTube/ Universal Pictures UK)

The central narrative follows the two brothers as they confront the consequences of their earlier involvement in paramilitary activity. Sean Bean’s character seeks to connect with Ray, highlighting the challenges of reconciliation after long-term separation.

Dialogue from the trailer illustrates the emotional complexity of their relationship, including Bean saying,

“I can’t help you till he told me what happened,”

to which Ray replies:

“Is that a question? What do you want from me, brother? What do you want?”

Sean Bean’s character tells his brother that he is

“Going to hell, brother,” to which Daniel Day-Lewis’s character responds quietly, framing the moment as a “family reunion.”

The exchanges depict how past experiences continue to shape their interactions and decisions. It demonstrates the long-term effects of historical and personal events on sibling relationships.

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About the Anemone film

The film explores relationships between family members, including fathers, sons, and siblings, and how personal histories and external events, such as political involvement, influence these dynamics. Themes of trauma, accountability, and reconciliation are addressed, showing the effects of past experiences and the process of resolving estranged relationships.

Ronan has a background in visual arts and short filmmaking, while Daniel provides his acting experience in their collaboration on Anemone. Daniel Day-Lewis previously retired in 2017, following an earlier break in 1997. In a 2017 interview with W magazine, Daniel explained:

''I didn’t want to get sucked back into another project. All my life, I’ve mouthed off about how I should stop acting, and I don’t know why it was different this time, but the impulse to quit took root in me, and that became a compulsion.”

Daniel Day-Lewis makes his much-anticipated return to cinema, starring as Ray Stoker, alongside Sean Bean as Jem Stoker, with supporting roles from Samantha Morton, Samuel Bottomley, and Safia Oakley-Green.

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