Working as the son of three-time Oscar winner Daniel Day-Lewis, arguably the greatest living actor, is both a blessing and a curse for a 27-year-old director trying to break into the industry. There’s access to a $14 million budget for your feature debut, and to, well, arguably the greatest living actor for your lead role. Yet, there must also be an omnipresent atmosphere of ‘nepo baby’ allegations that’ll follow your every move, a difficulty in ascertaining your own voice and career outside your father’s shadow.
This is the situation Ronan Day-Lewis finds himself in amid the release of his directorial debut, Anemone, which the father-son duo co-wrote together. Day-Lewis senior stars as Ray Stoker, a former British soldier, scarred by his role in the Troubles, who has retreated from life, self-isolating himself in a makeshift cabin in the woods. His brother, Jem Stoker, played by Sean Bean, boasts the same military background and goes to visit Ray to bring him back to his wife and son from his hermitic existence. The film centres on their complex relationship, fractured and haunted by their family and military history as they temporarily live atop each other in the cabin.
