The Lost Daughter (2021)
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- Synopsis:
Leda (Olivia Colman) is a middle-aged divorcée devoted to her work as an English teacher and to her two children. When her daughters leave home to be with their father in Canada, Leda anticipates a period of loneliness and longing. Instead, slightly embarrassed by the sensation, she feels liberated, as if her life has become lighter, easier. She decides to take a holiday by the sea, in a small coastal town in southern Italy. But after a few days of calm and quiet, things begin to take a menacing turn. Leda encounters a family whose brash presence proves unsettling, at times even threatening. When a small, seemingly meaningless, event occurs, Leda is overwhelmed by memories of the difficult and unconventional choices she made as a mother and their consequences for herself and her family. The seemingly serene tale of a woman's pleasant rediscovery of herself soon becomes the story of a ferocious confrontation with an unsettled past. - Actors:
- Olivia Colman, Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris, Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Mescal, Dagmara Dominczyk, Robyn Elwell, Jack Farthing, Ellie Mae Blake, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Panos Koronis, Alexandros Mylonas, Alba Rohrwacher, Nikos Poursanidis, Athena Martin Anderson, Konstantinos Samaa, Emmanouela Zacharopoulou, Alma Stansil, Daniela Babek
- Directors:
- Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Producers:
- Charles Dorfman, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Osnat Handelsman-Keren, Talia Kleinhendler
- Writers:
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, Elena Ferrante
- Genres:
- Drama
- Collections:
- BAFTA Nominations Competition 2023, Ireland At the Oscars, Oscar Nominations Competition 2023
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Reviews (2) of The Lost Daughter
Excellent Drama - The Lost Daughter review by GI
This is an intriguing psychological drama with a stunning central performance from Olivia Colman (destined to become as treasured as Judi Dench). She plays Leda, a Yorkshire born academic now based at Harvard, who goes alone to a Greek island for a relaxing holiday. She's divorced but seeks the tranquility of the island where she spends her time on the beach working and reading. Her peace is shattered by the arrival of a brash and loud American family, which includes Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her toddler daughter. Leda views their intrusion with contempt but when Nina's daughter goes missing she helps in the search and with a kind of sixth sense, finds her and is hailed as a hero. As a sort of strange friendship develops with Nina this brings back painful memories of Leda's troubled past and her own relationship with her two daughters. These scenes are told in flashback with Leda played by Jessie Buckley. Colman's performance is outstanding as she makes the character so enigmatic, Leda is always teetering on the brink of some emotional collapse or revelation and her strained attempts at romance are inept, first with young handsome waiter Will (Paul Mescal) and with Kyle (Ed Harris), an American ex-pat who lives on the island. On the surface Leda appears just a shy, decent person but there's always something lurking under the surface. The film is worth seeing for Colman's performance alone. Overall this is a confident film, the ending is a little tame but for first time director Maggie Gyllenhaal its quite an achievement.
Deep, slow and ultimately disappointing - The Lost Daughter review by JS
With 4 award winning actors in this film the critics naturally fall over themselves to award maximum stars but the public, looking for entertainment, have split on this film.
Perhaps for a directoral debut it was unwise to both direct and adapt the book. Incidentally, the film doesn't make me rush out and read the book. Being a Netflix production, it may never reach DVD and the "extra" of making the film which might bring enlightenment?
If an award is due to this film it will be for Buckley's performance as the young Colman. She puts an energy into the film which is otherwise lacking. Her portrayal of a female academic, "burdened" with a young family needing to realise her imagined potential is instantly recognisable to any observer of university life.
Colman is surprisingly wooden and the foul mouthed Johnson detached and the implied tension between the two families comes to nothing. Only the last spontaneous act has a little meaning.
A grudging 3 stars for Buckley's performance and the attempt to address an ever present problem for female society which is hardly a taboo subject.