5 reasons you might like Anniversary (2025)

I am Jason Kleeberg, this is Force Five, and today I’m going to give you 5 reasons you might like Jan Komasa’s 2025 film Anniversary, which IMDB describes as a provocative thriller about a very close-knit family that is torn apart as a new movement called The Change envelops the country.

Reason number 5, this is an uncomfortably timely movie that is disturbingly connected to the current political climate. This film’s ambition and timing are two of its strongest assets. While the story starts as a simple anniversary party, it quickly turns into a dizzying game of “this could happen here” anxiety. I do wish that the film went more into the “how” the movement builds, but it didn’t detract from my experience. Maybe this would have been better off as a mini series. Either way, the unfortunate part is that I fear those who would actually benefit from hearing the message Anniversary presents are simply too dumb to receive it.

Reason number 4, this movie has a fantastic ensemble cast including Phoebe Dynevor, Madeline Brewer and Zoey Deutch but there are certainly some standouts, and two of my favorites are the always fabulous Kyle Chandler and Diane Lane, who play Ellen and Paul, the parents in the family. Kyle Chandler’s “name the dog” scene really stands out and I know some people are a bit confused about this scene online and they say he’s overacting, or whatever but what I got from the scene is that he’s trying to move on from something horrible that happened and that’s his version of acceptance. I thought it was really moving. Diane Lane is the emotional and moral center of Anniversary, a mother, a professor and a political thinker who can see the danger entering her family before anyone else can, including us as the audience.

Reason number 3, the family drama as a political allegory is very well constructed. I appreciate the collapse of the country filtered through the collapse of one family. While the movie starts with a 25th anniversary party, it tracks the Taylor family over time as their relationships, loyalties and power dynamics deteriorate, and while, like I said before, I wish that the way the world changed was more clearly spelled out for my simple brain, I liked how the repeated family gatherings showed both the household and society breaking down together. As the family is pulled apart by The Change, the domestic drama turns into an authoritarian parable.

Reason number 2, I didn’t mention him before because I thought he deserved his own praise, the performance and transformation of Dylan O’Brien is fascinating. He plays Josh, an insecure, resentful kid who’s overshadowed by the stronger personalities around him, but gradually becomes more cold, more powerful and more dangerous. He moves from an ineffectual writer to a menacing true believer and while the Josh we knew from minute one is unrecognizable by the third act, he’s certainly recognizable if you’ve paid any attention to politics in the last few years. He’s dressed like and looks like Charlie Kirk, which I don’t think can be a coincidence.

Reason number 1, while this isn’t a horror movie, the lingering dread will stick with you well after the credits roll. Sure, it’s heavy-handed, and I’m sure most will argue that you have to be this day-and-age where subtlety is dead, but those who do connect with it will find it hard to shake. Watching this family and the world change will be equal parts captivating, stressful, daring and shocking.

If you’re into political films, family dramas, awkward dinner table conversations or any of the reasons I outlined above, check out Anniversary. If you’ve seen Anniversary, what did you think of it? And what’s your favorite Diane Lane performance? Let me know in the comments, and if you have a movie you think I should check out next, email me at forcefivepodcast@gmail.com.