Amanda Seyfried thinks deeply about the world around her, and her latest role only intensifies those feelings.
While promoting Ann Lee’s willthe actress admitted she was struggling with the state of America.
Seyfried said talking so much about Ann Lee, the 18th-century founder of the Shakers who she plays in the film, pushed her to think about what community really means today.
“What if we all had no agenda? What if our agenda was to take care of each other?” she said, calling socialism a “beautiful idea” in the sense of shared care, even though she knows the term can be misunderstood.
For her, the concept is simple: “If I have more money, I can spend more on others. »
In Mona Fastvold’s drama, Seyfried stars as a woman who endured a devastating loss, four children, and transformed her grief into a movement centered on equality and community living.
The film layers trauma, faith, healing and, unexpectedly, humor.
Before a screening at the SCAD Film Festival, she even encouraged the audience to embrace her quirky tone by telling them, “I give you permission to laugh.”
But the connection she establishes between Ann Lee’s world and the present is what weighs on her the most.
Seyfried remembers how, after 9/11, people came together in an instinctive, selfless way.
“Everyone gave up everything for each other,” she said, emphasizing how distant that collective spirit now seems.
“We shouldn’t need a meteor or fire situation to give up everything for each other.”
His thoughts evolved into a broader advocacy, rooted in the idea that people are more alike than they admit.
“We all want to be seen, we all want to be loved, we all want to be wanted,” she said, emphasizing that both sides of any divide share the same basic desires.
That’s why she questions what each person gains from greed, ego or defensiveness, emotions that she believes separate people rather than bring them together.
Seyfried’s performance in Ann Lee’s will is already lauded, but it’s clear that the experience shapes her in ways that extend beyond the screen.
Through the story of a woman who built community out of loss, Seyfried holds up a mirror to the present, calling for something simple, a return to caring for each other.
