'Anemone' can't contain Day-Lewis' force

Stepping out of retirement for his son’s debut feature, the actor is a powerhouse presence in a flimsy drama

- TIM GRIERSON

DANIEL DAY-LEWIS, foreground, and Sean Bean play estranged siblings who meet again after 20 years in a battle of wills in “Anemone.”

(Focus Features)

When we first encounter Daniel Day-Lewis in “Anemone,” we only see him from the back, but there’s no mistaking him. Chopping wood outside his character’s rustic cabin in the middle of nowhere, he drives the ax down again and again, ferociously focused on the task at hand. At his best, which was often, Day-Lewis pursued acting with a primal clarity. Fittingly, his return to the big screen after announcing a retirement in 2017 is in a movie that exudes the same stark, elemental quality. He didn’t just co-write this tale of two estranged brothers excavating their complicated history — he imbues it with his essence, its reason for being.

“Anemone” isn’t just a film about family but one made by a father and his son. It’s the feature directorial debut of Ronan Day-Lewis, who collaborated with his Oscar-winning dad on the screenplay. Ronan, better known as a painter in New York’s contemporary art world, chronicles a collection of still lifes that jostle themselves out of an emotional stupor.