12/27/2 - The Lost Daughter - 7/10
Complicated but rewarding is perhaps the best way to describe The Lost Daughter. The display of female talent (the 3 main actresses in front of the camera and Maggie Gyllenhaal behind it) was fantastic. But what really hooks deep into the flesh is the refreshing and dark take on parenthood, motherhood specifically. I drank up the harsh and maladaptive take on the burden of children; their purloining of freedom, sovereignty, and self joys. This is a perspective that is so rarely explored, let alone allowed to drive the narrative, unless the progeny is outright evil, like We Need To Talk About Kevin. But a simple story of a woman feeling trapped by her children and wanting to escape - it was invigorating.
What sells the film so much though are the complicated, realistic, and relatable portrayals. Coleman is sensational, like she so often is. Imperfect, powerful, damaged, and true to herself, however misguided that might be in the long run. Her performance informs and is informed by the great work of the younger version of the character, deftly realized by Jessie Buckley. Their tales are set amongst the backdrop of the young mother (Dakota Johnson), feeling drowned by similar difficulties with children and relationships, but in the much more tempestuous and dangerous world of possible crime.
It is freeing but not without repercussions. The push and pull of possible self-fulfillment and onerous responsibilities is constant war of the soul. No easy answers and no clear right/wrong. It certainly isn’t standard Hollywood fare and I adored its boldness, despite being thorny and inexact.
