Anemone is a 2025 drama film marking the highly anticipated return of Daniel Day-Lewis to acting after his 2017 retirement. Directed by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis, the film explores the intricate emotional bonds between fathers, sons, and brothers, unfolding through personal journeys and generational conflict.

Anemone is a meditation on legacy, reconciliation, and the beauty that can emerge from emotional vulnerability.

Set in northern England, the film follows a family fractured by past choices and unresolved tensions. Daniel Day-Lewis stars as a father confronting the ghosts of his decisions. Sean Bean plays his estranged brother, whose reappearance stirs long-buried resentments. Samantha Morton anchors the story as a maternal figure offering quiet strength and perspective. Samuel Bottomley portrays the son caught between generations, searching for identity and understanding, while Safia Oakley-Green plays a close friend whose insight helps bridge emotional divides.

Daniel co-wrote the screenplay with Ronan, making this a deeply personal collaboration.

The title Anemone draws symbolic weight from the flower’s mythological and emotional associations. In Greek mythology, the anemone is linked to the tragic love story of Adonis and Aphrodite, where the flower is said to have sprung from Adonis’s blood after his death. It’s often seen as a symbol of fragility, loss, and fleeting beauty.

Given the film’s focus on family bonds, emotional wounds, and generational conflict, the title likely reflects the delicate, transient nature of relationships—how love and pain intertwine across time. It’s also a nod to the idea that beauty can emerge from heartbreak, much like the flower itself.

Want to explore how this symbolism plays out in the characters or visual design of the film? I’d love to unpack that with you.

Ronan Day-Lewis (born 1998) is a New York City-based painter and filmmaker known for his emotionally charged visual art and emerging voice in cinema. Raised in rural Ireland, he graduated from Yale University in 2020 with a BA in Art. His paintings, often described as “punk Romantic,” blend haunting landscapes with mythic figures and have been featured in exhibitions across New York, Los Angeles, and Hong Kong. Ronan’s work has appeared in Artnet, Cultured Magazine, Hyperallergic, and Vogue, and he’s directed short films including The Sheep and the Wolf, which won Best Independent Short at the IFS Film Festival. In 2025, he made his feature directorial debut with Anemone, a drama co-written with his father, Daniel Day-Lewis, marking a deeply personal collaboration that explores generational conflict and emotional legacy.

Daniel Day-Lewis (born April 29, 1957) is a legendary English-Irish actor widely regarded as one of the greatest performers in cinematic history. Known for his immersive method acting, Daniel has won three Academy Awards for Best Actor—for My Left Foot (1989), There Will Be Blood (2007), and Lincoln (2012)—making him the only male actor to achieve this feat. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and began his career on stage before transitioning to film, where he became known for his transformative roles and intense character preparation. Daniel famously retired from acting twice, first in the late 1990s to pursue shoemaking in Italy, and again in 2017 after Phantom Thread. His return in Anemone marks a rare and intimate re-entry into film, shaped by his collaboration with Ronan. Daniel is married to filmmaker Rebecca Miller, daughter of playwright Arthur Miller, and together they have two sons, including Ronan.