VIDEO: Diane Lane On the Struggles To Have Her Daring, Timely New Film ‘Anniversary’ Be Seen

In Jan Komasa’s intense, absorbing and disturbing thriller, Anniversary, Diane Lane plays Ellen Taylor, an affluent, privileged Georgetown professor married to Paul (Kyle Chandler) a successful chef. The couple have four children and, as the film opens, the family gathers for Ellen and Paul’s 25th wedding anniversary. At the celebration, Ellen is aghast to discover that her son, Josh (Dylan O’Brien), has brought along his new girlfriend, Liz (Phoebe Dynevor), a former student of Ellen’s who departed the university when Ellen challenged her radical views on politics. Suffice to say, Ellen does not trust Liz, and her instincts prove spot on.

What narratively follows, over the course of five years, is the destruction of a family, set against the backdrop of a dying democracy where capitulation is demanded, otherwise the consequences could prove dire and deadly.

The film is being labeled “dystopian,” but considering our current political climate, I’m not so sure that label fits.

Lane delivers a fierce, compelling performance.

Ellen is a woman often caught between her values and doing what is best for her children. There are a number of explosive scenes where she stands up to her husband, her son—who rebels from his family in an absurd manner yet realistic manner—and the young woman who spearheads all her troubles, Liz. And Lane has an absolutely devastating moment in the film’s final chapter.

Lane’s performance is the kind of formidable work that should be in the awards conversation. And, for some odd reason–fear, perhaps–it has been a struggle for the film to gain much attention, let alone be considered for accolades.

The actress has been nominated for every major film and TV acting award including an Oscar nod for Adrian Lyne’s Unfaithful (2002), Primetime Emmy nominations for Lonesome Dove (1989), Cinema Verite (2011) and Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024) as well as three Golden Globe and three SAG Award nominations.

Her remarkable body of work onscreen began with George Roy Hill’s A Little Romance in 1979 and includes, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Outsiders, Rumble Fish (1983) & The Cotton Club (1984), Walter Hill’s Streets of Fire (1984), Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin (1992), Walter Hill’s Wild Bill (1995), Tony Goldwyn’s A Walk on the Moon (1999), Wolfgang Peterson’s The Perfect Storm (2000), Audrey Wells’ Under the Tuscan Sun (2003), Jay Roach’s Trumbo (2015), Eleanor Coppola’s Paris Can Wait (2017) Jason Reitman’s Tully (2018) and Thomas Bezucha’s Let Him Go—as well as providing the voice for Riley’s mom in Inside Out and Inside Out 2—to name just some of her remarkable film appearances.

TV credits include: Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994), A Streetcar Named Desire (1995), the series House of Cards (2018) and the limited series A Man in Full (2024).

On stage, she made her Broadway debut in The Cherry Orchard in 1976 and played Madam Ranevskya in another revival of the same play in 2016. She’s also been featured on stage in Runaways, Twelfth Night, Sweet Bird of Youth and The Mystery of Love and Sex.

Suffice to say, Lane’s acting output has been both remarkable and, too-often, unsung.

Anniversary was released by Lionsgate Films in theaters on October 29, 2025.

The Contending had the absolute pleasure of a video chat with Lane about Anniversary, some of her past films and, maybe, working with Jane Fonda in the future (?).