After hanging up his spurs following 2017's "Phantom Thread," Daniel Day-Lewis returns to the big screen with "Anemone," a dark, painfully slow and almost inscrutable psychological drama. He gives a searing performance in what feels like the world's most impressively cast student film, which is directed by his son, Ronan Day-Lewis.

The actor plays Ray Stoker, a hermit living off the grid in a cabin in the woods in northern England. When his brother Jem (Sean Bean) shows up one day, there's no warm greeting or brotherly hug. There are no words at all. There's simply a gesture to pull up a tree stump and have a seat.

Ray and Jem clearly have their issues. But the purpose of Jem's visit is not to sort those out, but rather to bring Ray home, as there are matters that require tending to. Ray's not too keen on going back. Thus, struggle. Lots of it.

Daniel Day-Lewis co-wrote the script with his son, and the younger Day-Lewis follows his father for long takes walking by an outdoor carnival and running alongside the beach. The three-time Academy Award winner, for what it's worth, is as commanding as ever, with a forceful diction — when he talks, you listen — and eyes that could burn a hole through one's soul.

But the story is seriously stagnated, and even one of the world's best living actors can't dig it out of its art house pretensions or narrative doldrums. The pounding music cues, mostly repetitive guitar chords, only further make it feel like a very long trailer for a movie that is not fully baked. It's sweet that Day-Lewis came out of retirement to help his son, but "Anemone" should have stayed a family home movie.

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'ANEMONE'

Grade: D

MPA rating: R (for language throughout)

Running time: 2:01

How to watch: In theaters Oct. 3

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