A Filha Perdida

The movie is really thought provoking. Although I watched it a few weeks ago, I still think about it. The actors are very good. Especially Olivia Coleman and her younger counterpart do an amazing job. The story is not coherent, sometimes you think where does this go? ...but actually I liked this story telling style, because it is close to real life. These things happen, people behave in this way and there is not always a clear explanation given, you need to understand and find out by yourself. Overall a really good movie, recommend to watch it, especially if you have kids. I believe every parent could understand.

I learned of Olivia Colman when she played Queen Anne in "The Favorite" (and won an Oscar for the role). I later saw her on "Broadchurch", as well as seasons three and four of "The Crown". She also provided one of the voices in "The Mitchells vs. The Machines".

But now we have Ms. Colman in an intense role. She plays a woman on vacation in Greece whose stay is overshadowed by memories of the daughters whom she abandoned. "The Lost Daughter" both casts doubt on the supposed happiness of family life, and the presumed pleasantness of tourism, with the protagonist's mental state deteriorating as the movie progresses. Jessie Buckley as the protagonist's younger self is equally intense, almost as much as her character in "I'm Thinking of Ending Things".

Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut is a fine one. I wouldn't call it a masterpiece - and it certainly won't be for everyone - but it's not a movie that you're likely to forget any time soon. Both Colman and Buckley received Academy Award nominations for their roles, with excellent support coming from Ed Harris, Dakota Johnson, Dagmara Dominczyk (Karolina on "Succession"), Paul Mescal and Peter Sarsgaard.

Elana Ferrante, the anonymous Sicilian author of "The Lost Daughter, has dedicated her entire career to the honest depiction of the complexities of what it means to be a woman. In this regard, Maggie Gyllenhall was wildly successful in her adaption of "The Lost Daughter", delivering a marvel of a screenplay that is able to tap the essence of Ferrante's work by offering an unflinching glimpse into the idealism of motherhood and then tearing it to shreds. The writing of Ferrante, infamously dense, is not easy source material to adapt into a cinematic format, instead of typical plot-driven fiction, she opts for a more heady and internally based story structure, which is why it's such a feat that Gyllenhall is able to make her script even remotely entertaining.

However, the script alone isn't what makes this movie good. It has a significant assist by three actresses: Olivia Colman in the titular role, Jessie Buckley as her younger half, and Dakota Johnson as a new mother of intrigue. Olivia Colman has clearly reached the new golden era of her career with stunning back-to-back performances: The Favorite, Flea Bag, The Crown, The Father, and now once again we find ourselves lauding her much deserved praise. Colman turns a mother, with plenty not to like, into a character that you just can't tear your eyes away from. Colman so deftly manages the swirl of emotions and outbursts of anger her character was prone to without ever showing her cards. Jessie Buckley, as her younger half, arguably gives the only warm performance in the entire film, a sharp decision in contrast to Colman's cold exterior. The merging of their singular character is helped by the incredible editing of Affonso Goncalves. Not only doing wonders for their character but the story as a whole by shuffling the order of events. Side Note: The audience is able to feel Colman's suffocation around children so thoroughly, not only because of her acting but because of the intimately claustrophobic cinematography and the unbearably well-designed sound mixing (which never lets you forget when there's a crying child in the background).

For all Gyllenhall does right here, there are a few missteps that make it hard to truly love this film. First, due to the very subtle nature of the script and the "beneath the surface" aspects of the performances, you can feel a bit emotionally isolated from all of the characters. I found myself constantly questioning if you actually cared about what's happening to any of them when it's obvious we should have. Second, the ending doesn't quite work, with Dakota Johnson invoking her mafia husband, as this was a barely established plot point that wasn't nearly developed enough to use as a cornerstone in one of the final developments in the story.

The Lost Daughter is an uncomfortable raw character study and vicious critique of what society expects from motherhood that's missing just a few key elements to seamlessly blend its story, message, and audience connectivity together.

Terribly overrated. Flat, strange, meandering, meaningless film. Entitled people who are very dislikeable, complaining about their privileged lives. Olivia Coleman is a selfish older woman and there are many flashbacks of her as a younger selfish woman. This is meant to be a mother "telling her truth" about the ugliness of motherhood. Nothing groundbreaking here. Just a boring story of self-absorbed, mindless people.

1. The narrative is unfocused. Two unrelated storylines are told in parallel, and the narrative is very scattered. Some characters (e.g. The local gang) are totally unnecessary.

2. Cinematography is annoying. Just too many closeups.

3. The screenplay is very pretentious. Its title and plot is misleading. Any audience would expect something to happen, yet nothing happens eventually. The title should be "The lost doll".