Official Trailer: ‘Anemone’ (2025)

Video Credit: Focus Features/YouTube

Plot Synopsis

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Ray in ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Maria Lax / Focus Features

The film opens with a stick figure montage depicting 20th-century Irish history and that country’s violent fight for independence from British rule.

‘Anemone’ Film Clip: “My Life’ | Video Credit: Focus Features

The film then cuts to the suburban north of 1980s/1990s England, where Jem Stoker is preparing to find his long-estranged brother, Ray. He leaves his wife, Nessa, and son behind one morning to few words. His adopted son, Brian, is being tormented by bullies who taunt him about Ray, his alleged father, and the bombing destruction he caused during a tumultuous period in Ireland.

(L to R) Daniel Day-Lewis as Ray and Sean Bean as Jem in ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Maria Lax / Focus Features

Ray Stoker lives in isolated seclusion, a man estranged from his family and a prisoner of his own trauma. Their familial bond feels like a relic of a bygone era, one where political strife, deeply personal trials, and their individual insecurities are nothing more than a terrible dream.

‘Anemone’ Film Clip: “He Prayed” | Video Credit: Focus Features

Upon Jem and Ray's tense reunion at Ray's remote cabin amid a sea of Anemone flowers, (their father’s favorite), the mood is far from celebratory. Jem faces a significant challenge: can he persuade his brother to abandon his isolation and reconnect with those he chose to leave behind? The answer is no. Ray ignores Jem's outreach and also refuses to read the letter Nessa sent, which implores Ray to come back.

Ray is too is given unto violence, and the realization frightens him that he may follow in his father’s bloody footsteps. Ray's past is marked by a physically scarring relationship with his father, a trauma that continues to affect him.

(L to R) Sean Bean stars as Jem and Daniel Day-Lewis as Ray in ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Maria Lax / Focus Features

His connection with Brian is non-existent, a result of Ray's decision to distance himself after the devastating bombing incident. Jem, who stepped in as Brian's father, struggles to help his son manage his violent tendencies. Despite his efforts and the physical demands he endures to bring Ray home, Jem receives little recognition.

Samantha Morton stars as Nessa in ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Des Willie / Focus Features

One night, however, Ray later discloses the source of his detachment from Nessa and others: his experiences as a soldier during the Troubles, the tumultuous time during Ireland’s history. He then recounts how his platoon's investigation into an IRA bomb maker concluded with the accidental, fatal wounding of the man and his apprentice in an explosion.

Daniel Day-Lewis stars as Ray and Sean Bean stars as Jem in ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Maria Lax / Focus Features

Ray discovered the apprentice near death within the building's ruins. Believing the young man's wounds were fatal and evacuation to a hospital would be too late, Ray ended his suffering with a gunshot. This act, however, is classified as a war crime due to Ray being unarmed at the time.

Sean Bean stars as Jem in ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Focus Features

The traumatic experience deeply affected Ray, a feeling intensified by his commanding officers' attempts to conceal the incident. He subsequently withdrew from society, seemingly disillusioned with humanity. Interestingly, Ray later admits that he can no longer recall the precise reason he killed the apprentice.

(L to R) Director Ronan Day-Lewis with actors Daniel Day-Lewis and Sean Bean during the production of ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Focus Features

Ray tearfully recounts meeting the dying teenager's hateful gaze, but his emotional state at the time eludes him. Tormented by guilt, he cannot recall if he shot the young man out of pity, necessity, cruelty, or mere impulse. This haunting uncertainty has driven Ray into isolation. This is what has turned him away from his family.

(L to R) Actor Daniel Day-Lewis and director Ronan Day-Lewis on the set of ‘Anemone’ • Photo Credit: Maria Lax / Focus Features

The night after Ray confides in Jem about his inner turmoil, massive blocks of hail crash into the nearby town, residents Nessa and Brian look on in awe.

Following Ray's discovery of a mysterious creature made entirely of water, he attacks his brother Jem, but the worsening hailstorm forces the two to take shelter in Ray’s house, abruptly ending their conflict. The connection to the mysterious watery beast seems confirmed the following morning when Ray discovers a massive fish, killed in the storm, floating downstream.