The Lost Daughter: Film Review
Maggie Gyllenhaal makes her directorial debut with this movie adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel The Lost Daughter, and while it establishes her as an assured filmmaker, I wanted more from the film.
The drama stars Olivia Colman as Leda Caruso, a comparative literature professor on a working holiday on a Greek island. Every day she heads down to the beach to relax and work and has to share the shoreline with a big, loud American family. She becomes obsessed with Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her daughter and it makes her think about the choices she made in the past.
This is a slow-burning character study that is all about Leda’s mindset. We don’t find out what is troubling Leda for a long time and that mystery felt very intriguing and compelling. We slowly find out more about her past in flashbacks starring Jessie Buckley as a younger Leda and the film constantly weaves back and forth to tell her story. The ultimate reveal is handled superbly, no doubt about that, but I came away from the film feeling unsatisfied as I just expected more to happen and the ending left me cold.
Although I wanted more from the story, there’s still a lot to praise the film for. Gyllenhaal realistically shows how stressful, maddening and all-consuming raising a child can be and successfully puts you in Leda’s shoes so you can understand why she made certain decisions. I also want to applaud her for depicting a taboo side of motherhood that is rarely portrayed on film. I loved how subversive, searingly honest and radical it is.
The performances are the main draw and Colman and Buckley are simply staggering. I will be shocked if Colman doesn’t land another Oscar nomination. She doesn’t do a big showy performance – it feels natural, real and candid and it’s quietly heartbreaking. You can tell that Leda has carried guilt and shame around with her for a long time. Buckley is also brilliant as the harassed mother who is trying to further her academic work at the same time. She makes Leda a sympathetic character, even if you don’t agree with her choices.
Elsewhere, Johnson is captivating as Nina; the camera is drawn to her just like Leda is. On the surface, it might seem like she was cast simply because of her looks – she’s the hot young mum after all – but there’s so much more to her than that and she’s wrestling with a lot of thoughts about being a mother. I was thrilled to see Normal People star Paul Mescal pop up on my screen but he’s seriously underutilised. I also enjoyed Ed Harris as the sweet lonely man who runs Leda’s rental and Dagmara Dominzyck as Nina’s feisty sister Callie.
The Lost Daughter won’t be for everyone as it is so leisurely paced and not much happens plot-wise but it’s worth a watch for the performances and the subversive storyline.
In selected cinemas now and on Netflix from 31st December