La Hija Del Pantano

A very enjoyable thriller which starts stronger than it finishes, The Marsh King's Daughter is about a young woman stalked by her criminal father after she starts a new life away from him after he abducted her mother many years previously. Can she sever the still-lingring attachment she feels towards him forever?

I must say, I was surprised to discover the low rating for the movie on here. As far as I'm concerned, it gripped me it's mixture of our titular protagonist adapting to city life with her new family after spending so long in the wilderness, and the tension-packed present when she discovers her supposely dead convicted papa might not be so deceased after all.

So after both the drama and suspence are both top notch, the fact the film ends with one of those oh-so-predictable violent struggles struggles out of the Hollywood playbook was a tad dispiriting, not not enough to stop me from giving it any less than 7/10.

In mild thriller "The Marsh King's Daughter" Ben Mendelsohn's arrested after holding Caren Pistorius captive in the US wilds, where she had Brooklyn Prince who she & Mendelsohn raised for 12 yrs. Years later Prince (now Daisy Ridley) has a child of her own (via hubbie Garrett Hedlund) who Mendelsohn comes for (or does he?) on escaping prison. Director Neil Burger styles it like "Where The Crawdads Sing" / "Lou" but it's lower quality, thanks mainly to the co-writing duo of debutant Elle Smith & "The Covenant" co-writer Mark L Smith whose script is implausible, hole-filled & short-cutting. Gil Birmingham lends decent support, but this one is only just passable.

The movie will be well enjoyed by those who have not read the book by the same name as the story and characters remainn a mystery for them and thus one can keep up with the pace no matter how slow or fast the story goes. The people who have read the book on the other hand may find it off or slow to the pace they remember reading it.

With regards to the story and acting, the actors have well adapted to the script and do justice to the script that has been given to them.

The script itself has been well adapted to the current time and is adapted to suite the timeline. The only issue one faces is that the story itself needs adapting to suite to movie watcher's taste and while it does justice to the book and it's story, it doesn't add anything new of its own which might have become it's X factor. Thus, overall, it's a watchable movie, but not something you will remember for long or will go back to watch again.

"The Marsh King's Daughter" is a gripping psychological thriller that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. Based on the novel by Karen Dionne, the movie tells the story of Helena, a woman who must confront her traumatic past when her father, a dangerous fugitive, escapes from prison. The film expertly weaves together elements of suspense, drama, and mystery, creating a tense and atmospheric experience for the audience. The performances are top-notch, with strong portrayals from the lead actors. Overall, "The Marsh King's Daughter" is a haunting and intense film that will leave viewers thinking long after the credits roll.

I was quite lucky I didn't read the IMDb synopsis for 'The Marsh King's Daughter' before seeing it, because it would've completely ruined the film's opening - and the opening is the strongest thing this film has going for it.

From there the film falls into "perfectly fine" land. Everything is passable and it's a mildly entertaining way to pass 110 minutes. But there's nothing daring or original or memorable here sadly.

The film also relies heavily on characters making nonsensical decisions that only make sense as a method to drive the plot forward. You either get used to that in this film or you're unlikely to have a good time.

As I mentioned, if you go in with a positive attitude and you're not looking for perfection you might just have a reasonably good time with this film. Even if you do however, I doubt you'll think about it again a week after seeing it. 6/10.