The Lost Daughter

My Review - The Lost Daughter Netflix

My Rating 5/10 As readers of this page know I'm a great advocate for Women Directors also a great fan of Maggie Gyllenhaal and Olivia Coleman but this film directorial debut from Maggie Gyllenhaal left me totally unimpressed.

I kept thinking would I have liked it more on a Cinema screen instead of a television screen and at the conclusion I had decided no I just didn't get it.

The film has been highly praised by some critics especially for Maggie Gyllenhaal 'S directing and Screenplay writing.

Olivia Coleman's performance as Leda is certainly a consideration for an Oscar nomination next year.

The Lost Daughter is about a woman Leda Caruso who while on a summer holiday, finds herself becoming obsessed with another woman and her daughter on the beach . Their interactions provoke memories of her own early motherhood to come back and unravel her holiday bliss.

The two women who portray Leda are Olivia Colman as Leda Caruso on holiday on the Italian Coast and Jessie Buckley as young the Leda Caruso in flashback . Both actresses give impressive performances but both characters annoyed me and I just lost interest in them and their story.

Dakota Jackson is impressive as the young mother Nina who Leda notices on the resort beach with her daughter and obviously sees a mirror image of her life experiences through their interactions which disturb her and are reflected in this 2 hour movie.

The two men in this film Ed Harris as Lyle a resort employee and young Will played by Paul Mescal are interesting characters that never really develop . This film I truly fits a genre description I usually never refer to as " A Woman's Picture " that's certainly not an insult but it's a Woman's Picture that didn't entertain me or move me at all.

Why that happened I can't say as it would contain spoilers I'll just say in my opinion both Leda's were two unlikeable characters that I had no empathy with at all.

Mature Leda obviously guilt ridden and depressed about her life choices involving her daughters and young Leda headstrong and following her desires rather than her responsibilities.

I won't spend more effort on this review as the film just failed to impress me I know it will appeal to some movie goers but apart from the good performances by the cast the story just didn't move me and the Direction by Maggie Gyllenhaal makes me hope that she won't give up acting.