The Testament of Ann Lee, Mona Fastvold’s religious musical drama in regards to the titular Christ-like founding father of the 18th century Shakers sect (Amanda Seyfried), is the very essence of production design. That’s because we witness Lee’s followers constructing their latest utopian community — where they express their worship through orgiastic chanting and dancing — from the bottom up.
For production designer Sam Bader, this entailed re-creating the unique Shakers colony from Niskayuna, Latest York, on a plot of land outside Budapest, Hungary, where a lot of the production was filmed. The design reflecting their philosophy of simplicity and utility — through clean lines and powerful joints — informs and permeates all of the well-made objects and buildings.
Bader relied on traditional matte painters as a part of his organic world-building. “There’s quite a lot of forensic reconstruction that goes into this,” he says. “And quite a lot of judicious and selective curating and printing maps really large. Then taking many location photos and dealing with Mona and [cinematographer] Will [Rexer] to see how we’re going to design and construct this. However the Shakers was an additional layer.”
Indeed, the volumes of space, the interrelationships amongst these iconic Shaker home structures, were forward-looking. The design outlines a utilitarian existence that will go on to develop into synonymous with America and taming the land.
Bader’s cornerstone of references included such renowned painters as Francis Guy, William Hogarth and Joseph Wright of Derby.
“All of my research is finished in a free-associative way, however the Shakers was its own siloed thing,” Bader explains. “I believe the extent to which they built these places in deep and distant parts of the country, and the utilitarian nature of how they lived off the land, really did pioneer open-source patenting. Realizing how much commonality their distinct style had, and yet how much of a departure it was from anything on the time, was a revelatory experience for me.
“There was an egalitarian spirit to it,” he continues, “but they didn’t put anyone’s name on anybody invention. They were credited as a collective.”
Interior sets of The Testament of Ann Lee
Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures
The development of the congregation hall, which occurs in stages onscreen, is the architectural standout. However it required compromises. If Bader and his team had on a regular basis, money and resources, they might’ve built it as a whole freestanding structure, with a full barrel roof and a vaulted ceiling. But “the choice to that was to search out this Goldilocks, unicorn property,” Bader recalls. “That’s where we did a 3rd of the movie’s sets, and we saw that one of the best thing for the hall was old stone, a concrete barn stuffed with junk, with a wood vaulted roof and joints and beams.”
They knocked out every part that wasn’t load-bearing on this old husk of a structure and built the ground, the partitions and every part else into a fantastic 360-degree hall. Then, about 200 yards down the road was a freestanding exterior.
“When it got here to bringing it back to the Shaker aesthetic, it was somewhat pre- prescribed, and there have been certain proportions and compositional relationships that needed to be maintained,” Bader adds. “The challenge was leaning into a technique of achieving this scope that required some constraints, just like the proven fact that there are giant stone columns and also you’re constructing door and window placements which can be harmonious and balanced. It took squeezing and pinching to get it perfect.”
See more on the making of The Testament of Ann Lee and other awards contenders at THR‘s dedicated site for behind-the-scenes stories at THR.com/behindthescreen.
This story first appeared in a December stand-alone issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. To receive the magazine, click here to subscribe.