The Lost Daughter - 💥💥💥💥💥

Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal 

Writers: Maggie Gyllenhaal (screenplay) and Elena Ferrante (based on the novel by) 

Release Date: 17th December 2021

Hot Rating: 💥💥💥💥💥

Director Maggie Gyllenhaal has captured that unspoken maternal taboo; what happens if a mother does not love her children? Leda (Olivia Colman) is a middle-aged Academic who, during her solo holiday on a Greek island, comes into contact with an obtrusive Italian-American family and forms an eerily mimetic bond with the younger Nina (Dakota Johnson). Gyllenhaal's greatest success is navigating the many flashbacks of a younger Leda - expertly performed by Jessie Buckley - to slowly unravel her psyche. The film could have strayed into bluntness, here, if not for the perfectly-formed performances; each character, from Ed Harris as the meandering expat to Dagmara Domińczyk as the naïve mother-to-be, retains a mysterious edge that peaks interest. The past informs the present, but it also complicates it; Leda's present-day decisions are shaped by regret and conviction. Through Leda’s struggles with identity, the audience also treads a similarly murky path of empathy and intrigue.

Image: YouTube