“The Lost Daughter” - Film Review
There’s nothing neat about Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut. In The Lost Daughter, adapted from Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name, Gyllenhaal creates a complicated movie about the imperfections, challenges, and expectations of motherhood.
Leda (Olivia Colman) is a professor who’s spending her summer vacation on the (fictional) Greek island of Kyopeli. She plans to read, unwind, and prepare herself for the upcoming fall semester. At first, Leda’s beachside rental is as relaxing as she’d hoped it would be, and her only company is a very handsome and attentive resort employee named Will (Paul Mescal). Her calm is soon ruined by a large, rowdy extended family that has ancestral roots in Kyopeli and vacations there every summer. Leda is immediately intrigued by the struggling young mother in the group, Nina (Dakota Johnson), and her three-year-old daughter, Elena (Athena Martin). While at first simply observing from afar, Leda becomes more involved with Nina and her family when Elena goes missing.
A sense of dread runs beneath the characters’ actions throughout the film. The too-attentive resort employees, the way the film begins with Leda passing out on a beach, Elena’s disappearance, the foghorn that disrupts Leda’s sleep, and Leda’s fascination with Nina all give the impression that something is not quite right. Leda’s identity begins to become more clear as the audience sees flashbacks of Leda (Jessie Buckley) at a time when her adult children, Bianca (Robyn Elwell) and Martha (Ellie Blake), are young. In these flashbacks, it’s apparent that Leda struggled with being a young mother and may explain why she is so drawn to Nina in the present day.
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While there is rightful praise surrounding Colman’s performance, Buckley’s portrayal of young Leda is the beating heart of this movie. It is extraordinarily difficult to convey the conflict many women feel between loving being a mother and regretting having children, but Buckley does it effortlessly. Without her performance and the nuance she adds to every scene, Colman’s present-day Leda would seem flat; cold and shut off for seemingly no reason. Buckley’s strong performance allows Colman’s smallest actions to carry the weight that they do. Colman’s performance, quite simply, does not exist without the foundation Buckley builds. Aside from the clear physical resemblance between the two actors, it is striking just how much they match each other’s energy and mannerisms without ever creating the impression that one is mimicking the other.
At times, the present-day scenes between Leda and Nina’s family feel tedious. Make no mistake, the tension is well-maintained for most of the movie, especially after Elena is found and as her doll goes missing. The tension remains lodged in the audience members’ throats as more and more threads are unwound. The problem is that there’s simply too much of the present-day plot without any progression of the tension. It feels like a stalemate between resolving the tension and letting it continue to linger, and while the flashbacks remain compelling, it becomes obvious that the film is treading water until it reaches its conclusion.
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It seems highly probable that there will not be a general consensus on this film. Some people will find it to be a too-long-and-drawn-out portrait of a sad woman looking back on how she raised her children. Others will find a solace of sorts in how little Gyllenhaal cares to glorify motherhood. It is an unflinching look at difficult decisions, how they play out, and how they can be right and wrong at the same time. Many of Leda’s decisions, especially leaving her children to follow her career, could be seen as selfish, but the audience is allowed to witness the joy it brings her to leave and thrive at a convention where she can be with others who share her love of translating Italian poetry. But even then, happily following her passion, Leda suffers under a cloud of melancholy because she misses her daughters. The Lost Daughter doesn’t take sides. It simply showcases how a multitude of complex and contradictory feelings can exist within one person. Being a human is not always neat, especially when emotions are involved. The movie is a damning look at society today and the expectations that fall on women to become mothers when they may not be ready or may never even want to be a mother.
So often, men are the only ones in movies and tv shows who are portrayed as complicated main characters. They are allowed to be rude and ruthless and make confusing decisions. A woman in that same role would be called a bitch, even if her character was more layered than the “misunderstood” man. The Lost Daughter isn’t necessarily a celebration of a complicated woman, but it is a searingly honest portrayal. This look at motherhood isn’t intended to be perfect. It’s much more interested in all of the ugliness that’s involved. It’s an untidy celebration that doesn’t end with atonement or regret. It simply ends with Leda continuing to be the same type of mother she’s always been. Perhaps not the best mother she could be, definitely not the mother society wants her to be, but the mother that she is.
3.5 / 5 Stars
Key Takeaways + a Spoiler or Two:
Jessie Buckley is a movie star and this is a hill I have been dying on since Beast. She also has a truly gorgeous voice and I need her in a full-blown movie musical as soon as possible.
Insane that I posted my year-end recap and gave out a superlative for best doll without having seen this movie. Baby Annette is lucky, because this doll might’ve stolen her crown.
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