Certification. 15
Director. Maggie Gyllenhaal
Critics have been full of praise for Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut, The Lost Daughter. An adaptation of an Elena Ferrante novel, Maggie Gyllenhaal only acquired the rights to the novel after the author demanded Gyllenhaal herself, directed the film.
Leda Caruso, a professor in linguistics, is set for a summer vacation in a quiet, coastal village in Greece. However, her idyll is shattered after a couple of days when a large, brash Italian-American family arrive. The family's appearance introduces a degree of menace to proceedings and following the disappearance of the family's youngest child, Leda is forced to confront the unconventional choices she has made as a mother.
At this point in the film, the storyline alternates between two, time frames in a series of flashbacks. The audience is introduced to the young Leda (Jessie Buckley) struggling with motherhood, and the here and now, where Leda is played by Olivia Colman. Two immensely talented actresses - Olivia Colman is solid, but Jessie Buckley's performance is superb as the increasingly exasperated and unsatisfied young mother.
Unapologetic and unsettling, yes, but the major issue I have with The Lost Daughter is that I did not relate to the narrator. I felt no sense of connection with Leda and felt that Maggie Gyllenhaal routinely struggled to explain why the character acted the way she did. At that point, I really didn't care about anyone's state of mind or the consequences of their actions.
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