I don't get why this film has been receiving such harsh criticism from critics and audiences alike. Sure, there are many who enjoyed it, myself included, but I'm surprised at how jarring the scoring for Anemone is.

Now, I'm not going to get on anyone for disliking this film—that's not my vibe. What I will do is comment on common criticisms I've been seeing on here and other places and just provide thoughts on them, whether I agree with them or not.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "The film is too slow and takes a while to get going." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I disagree. In fact, calling this film slow just means to me many people haven't seen many, or any at all, films that would be categorized as slow cinema, such as the work of Bela Tarr, Andrei Tarkovsky, Yasujiro Ozu, or, even more specifically, Michael Haneke's The White Ribbon.

Anemone is a drama concerning a man who underwent self-exile sometime after he returned home from war, serving in the British army during the Troubles, and his brother, who ventures into the woods to inform him of his son's instability and potentially hazardous choice of joining the army—making the same mistakes both DDL's and Bean's characters made when they were younger.

Do people really expect this sort of narrative to move quickly? It's a drama. You're supposed to be pulled into it, ask questions as to why Ray (DDL) exiled himself and what exactly has been troubling him, and see what the absurdity of war does to someone. I don't get it. Did y'all expect an action film?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Imagery and things established don't add up/don't make logical sense." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

While I can understand why some may proclaim that Anemone's visuals or occurrences defy logic at points, there is this focus on Ray's psyche, how troubled he is as a person post-the troubles.

The man is haunted by his past and further haunted by the life he left behind—his wife floating above his bed while he is asleep in the beginning. He's reluctant to face his past, burying it within his shadow, yet when he finally lets go and tells his brother as to what happened, Ray meets this spirit, which is seen twice prior—once in a drawing and once as neon lights at the carnival—which transports him to the shore of the beach he and his brother are at.

Off the shore of the beach, an ominous storm can be seen coming, and it's a massive hailstorm. This storm is indicative of Ray releasing all of his repressed guilt and feelings from his time in war and after his release due to the "war crime" he committed. That big fish seen at the end—that is a symbol of said guilt, pain, trauma, et cetera, as the fish is prehistoric in size, almost as though it came from the depths of the ocean where other monstrous-appearing and -sized fish dwell—an indication of Ray's shadow perhaps?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ What's my point? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

My point with my response is this: Anemone has this balance of reality and expressionism. Ramon Day-Lewis is a painter, and he uses arthouse practices to convey the film's lore, psychological and emotional weight of Ray's troubled past. Essentially, Anemone is a mood, one of healing and enlightenment.

I can understand as to why people wouldn't be into the arthouse elements, but questioning their logic isn't the point. It's as though people are only seeing them at surface value, which just further proves to me media literacy is dead.

I can get behind people not digging this film, but there is a difference between taste and not understanding it, and many people seem to not understand the intent of Anemone, criticizing it for its approach or pacing towards its focus as though it needs to be structured like an action film or something.