A vacation is anything but relaxing in The Lost Daughter, the first feature written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Based on the novel of the same name by acclaimed author Elena Ferrante, the film follows Leda, a divorced woman whose daughters recently went to live with their father. With her newfound free time, she decides to take a beach vacation, where she reads, soaks up the sun, and meets a young family. The latter, particularly the mother and daughter, trigger memories of her own time with her daughters, and she begins to examine how she ended up on this beach alone.
It appears this will be a layered character study, one where the person we follow may not be someone we like. It’s the kind of character you’ve seen Gyllenhaal herself play many times, so it will be interesting to see what she does with this sort of character from behind the camera.
Of course, she got some equally stellar people in front of the camera to portray these complicated people. Olivia Colman stars as Leda while Dakota Johnson and Jessie Buckley co-star as the mother from the beach and young Leda, respectively. Also appearing is Peter Sarsgaard, Paul Mescal, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen.
The prospect of seeing what Gyllenhaal can do as a writer and director already made this an intriguing film, and with strong reviews from its festival run, it has become a must-see.
The Lost Daughter is directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal and stars Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, and Jessie Buckley. It will receive a limited theatrical run in the US starting December 17th and be released in the US, UK, and many other countries on Netflix on December 31st. For international release dates, click here.
Will you check this one out? Let us know in the comments!
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