A provocative thriller about a very close-knit family that is torn apart as a new movement, “The Change,” envelops the country.

For some reason, my takeaway from the trailers to Anniversary was that the movie was a Family Drama. It is, but it is so much more! The movie is a political-thriller that is not set in the back rooms of government buildings or with spies running around but set in the Taylor family home in a lovely east-coast town and follows the disintegration of this close-knit, white, upper-middle class, Liberal family.  It’s a novel setting to showcase what can happen when a divisive political opinion infiltrates a family, in this case in the form of a girlfriend to the family’s only son. Imagine your stressful family Thanksgiving dinner times 1000. 

Right from the beginning, we are introduced to Liz Nettles, the girlfriend (played by Phoebe Dynevor), who writes a book that starts a political movement which sweeps across America and takes over not just the conversation but the way of living and the government. The son, Josh (Dylan O’Brien), is immediately taken by her ideology and quickly ascends to First Gentleman status as Liz’s book The Change is adopted by the country. While everyone else in the family tries to play nice to Liz and Josh, the matriarch Ellen (Diane Lane), who is also a libertarian professor at Georgetown, takes Liz and her ideology head on, creating tension and division. Dad (Kyle Chandler) just wants everyone to get along, but it is not to be. No one is left untouched by The Change movement, especially not the youngest, Birdie (McKenna Grace).

The political and family tension maybe needs to come with a trigger warning as it is rather timely and mirrors the current political climate quite closely. Maybe that’s why many people haven’t seen it – it’s too soon.  But that is a shame because the ensemble cast of familiar and up-and-coming faces do an excellent job of conveying the struggles of individuals sparked by a political ideology. Compared to the deluge of horror movies that have been coming out, this movie was scariest by far. 

Barndi’s grade – A-