The Testament of Ann Lee, Mona Fastvold’s religious musical drama about the titular Christ-like founder of the 18th century Shakers sect (Amanda Seyfried), is the very essence of production design. That’s because we witness Lee’s followers building their new utopian community — where they express their worship through orgiastic chanting and dancing — from the ground up.
For production designer Sam Bader, this entailed re-creating the original Shakers colony from Niskayuna, New York, on a plot of land outside Budapest, Hungary, where most of the production was filmed. The design reflecting their philosophy of simplicity and utility — through clean lines and strong joints — informs and permeates all the well-made objects and buildings.
Bader relied on traditional matte painters as part of his organic world-building. “There’s a lot of forensic reconstruction that goes into this,” he says. “And a lot of judicious and selective curating and printing maps really large. Then taking many location photos and working with Mona and [cinematographer] Will [Rexer] to see how we’re going to design and construct this. But the Shakers was an extra layer.”
Indeed, the volumes of space, the interrelationships among these iconic Shaker home structures, were forward-looking. The design outlines a utilitarian existence that would go on to become 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 done in a free-associative way, but the Shakers was its own siloed thing,” Bader explains. “I think the extent to which they built these places in deep and remote 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 else at 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 any one invention. They were credited as a collective.”
The construction of the congregation hall, which occurs in stages onscreen, is the architectural standout. But it required compromises. If Bader and his team had all the time, money and resources, they would’ve built it as a complete freestanding structure, with a full barrel roof and a vaulted ceiling. But “the alternative to that was to find this Goldilocks, unicorn property,” Bader recalls. “That’s where we did a third of the movie’s sets, and we saw that the best thing for the hall was old stone, a concrete barn full of junk, with a wooden vaulted roof and joints and beams.”
They knocked out everything that wasn’t load-bearing in this old husk of a structure and built the floor, the walls and everything else into a beautiful 360-degree hall. Then, about 200 yards down the road was a freestanding exterior.
“When it came to bringing it back to the Shaker aesthetic, it was somewhat pre- prescribed, and there were certain proportions and compositional relationships that had to be maintained,” Bader adds. “The challenge was leaning into a method of achieving this scope that required some constraints, like the fact that there are giant stone columns and you’re constructing door and window placements that are 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.
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