The Lost Daughter

Movie: The Lost Daughter

Nominated for: Best Actress, Best Supporting Actress, Best Adapted Screenplay

How I watched: Netflix

When I fell asleep: I didn't

When it had me: Olivia Colman

When it lost me: The ending threw me

What I have to say:

The Lost Daughter was Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut and I thought it was brave and candid. Olivia Colman was so fantastic in the role of a book editor with adult children on a solo vacation. She brings such unpretentious, relatable human feeling to her work and I think it can be absolutely magical at times.

This film put some things on the screen that I haven't quite seen depicted this way before: the struggle of being out of place, the harsh judgment of unexpected life choices, the balance between boundaries and unnecessary stubbornness and the inclination to be a bit devious for no obvious purpose. All of these played out in very small moments that feel so real to me that I sort of felt seen and guilty for feeling seen at the same time.

The movie carried with it that sense of guilt and defiance throughout. Most dramatically so in the depiction of a mother who did not do her job to the standards of society. A mother shouldn't be stingy with her time, a mother shouldn't be preoccupied with sexual needs, a mother should never prioritize career first. I felt the discomfort of all of these tensions. However, much like I touched on in my review of Flee yesterday, Maggie Gyllenhaal is not only imparting the story of a mother, she is giving us the story of a fully fleshed out human being who happens to be struggling with motherhood and that is a WORLD of difference. THAT is a breath of fresh air as a matter of fact.

The Lost Daughter danced on the edge of magical reality a little bit. So much so that I got confused at times. Is this real? Is this metaphor? Am I supposed to take it all at face value? The end was particularly suspect to me; it feels very open to interpretation. But I don't mind that there were moments I had to muddle through, Gyllenhaal still gave us something special.