The Daughter

A Victorian housewife descends into madness over involuntary abstinence due to health issues, dragging her sexually frustrated husband, their only daughter, and the audience through a very slow simmer without a climax. The film could have worked (the cinematography, sets and cast are all excellent), had it not been for the extraordinarily flat characters. They are all completely one-dimensional and only superficially relatable, not by fault of the actors but due to poor writing. After spending an hour and a half in the presence of the downtrodden Constance, I still couldn't describe her character in more than a sentence. Malone gave an excellent performance, as did the rest of the cast, but an actor can only do so much with a dull script.

Honestly, I have never before watched such drivel. You get a feel from the very start that it is going to be bad, but you cannot know how much. There isn't much background given to the characters, there is not much of a storyline to build on. The actors - especially Malone - offer very poor performance. I am guessing that is the director because Malone can deliver in other roles I have seen. There is no horror, just constant waiting for something worthwhile to happen; and I am sorry to say it doesn't. Having Malone play her daughter as an adult was a poor choice too. I will say, the Victorian setting was beautiful, but that's all I've got.

One of the best dramas I've ever seen. The story is well crafted, the cinematography and set design are both beautiful. The acting is solid throughout.

I found every second of this film to be riveting. It's a damn fine film that will have you pondering its intricacies and subtleties long after the credits have rolled.

I've just seen this on dvd, rented from my local library, so I didn't spend much on it. It's probably one of the worst films on dvd this year. Extraordinarily boring, completely without horror, if horror's your thing. It isn't mine, but I don't mind watching if the rest of the film around the horror is worthwhile. This isn't. I rented it because Janet McTeer's in it, but even so it's simply not worth watching. Great sets by Luciana Arrighi. Beautiful wallpaper, steals the show.

Avoid. Terrible overacting awful story. Soft porn? Sort of. Horror? Not scary.