The Lost Daughter

British literature professor Leda Caruso (Olivia Colman) went to Greece on a summer holiday. While she was on the beach, she finds herself obsessively observing an attractive young woman Nina (Dakota Johnson) with her headstrong little daughter Elena (Athena Martin). This made her recall her younger self in her 20s (Jesse Buckley) raising her own two daughters Bianca and Martha (Robyn Elwell and Ellie Blake).

Colman's 48-year old Leda looked like a mild-mannered academic at first glance. However, this film slowly revealed that she carries heavy psychological baggage within her over the years. These painful issues mainly revolved around her tumultuous relationship with her daughters when they were little girls, triggered back to life by seeing the seductive Nina and her Elena. More disturbing details would further unravel as Elena's doll went missing.

It was fascinating to watch Colman and Buckley's consistent portrayals of Leda at two ages in her life. Colman's Leda displayed some testy behavior that did not seem to fit the usual profile of a respectable woman of her age and stature. It was only upon meeting Buckley's young Leda through flashbacks can we understand Colman's Leda's breakdown upon meeting Nina, seeing how they shared the same dilemmas when it came with their daughters and men.

True to her provocative name from Greek myth, Leda was a woman of passion. While Buckley's young Leda had a husband Joe (Jack Farthing), she was also drawn to the intellectual genius and masculine confidence of fellow professor Hardy (Peter Skarsgaard). On her vacation, Colman's middle-aged Leda can still attract her share of male admirers, like elderly villa manager Lyle (Ed Harris) and young working student Will (Paul Mescal).

This female-centric film had an all-female creative team behind it, with Maggie Gyllenhaal on her debut as feature film director and screenplay writer, adapting the novel of Italian writer Elena Ferrante. Gyllenhaal approached the drama with palpable suspense, with gorgeous images were captured by Helene Louvart. Colman, Buckley and Johnson all turn in excellent internally-complex performances of their flawed characters.

Greetings again from the darkness. There are so many things that go unspoken about parenting, and first time writer-director Maggie Gyllenhaal specifically focuses her lens on the pressures of motherhood, by adapting the 2006 novel from the anonymous and talented and mysterious Italian writer Elena Ferrante. Of course, we are all aware of Ms. Gyllenhaal's fine work as an actor, yet it's almost beyond belief that this is her debut as a feature film director. The source material is strong, but Ms. Gyllenhaal, along with a terrific performance from Olivia Colman (Oscar winner, THE FAVOURITE, 2018), turn a coastline vacation into a mesmerizing psychological case study.

Ms. Colman proves yet again what a fine and versatile actor she is. Here she plays Leda, a divorced professor on solo holiday on a picturesque Greek island, staying in a refurbished lighthouse tended by longtime caretaker Lyle (Ed Harris). Leda is packing a satchel full of books and academia work, and is a bit perturbed when her isolated beach time is suddenly interrupted by a large and noisy family of vacationers from Queens. Being an observant loner, Leda eyes young mother Nina (Dakota Johnson) who is struggling with her daughter, as well as her husband and other family members. This triggers memories in Leda that are handled via flashbacks with a terrific Jessie Buckley (I'M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS, 2020) as young Leda, stressed out wife and mother to two daughters. She longs for her own space.

At face value, this appears to be a movie about a woman annoyed that she can't just enjoy a quiet holiday on the sandy beach as she reads her books. However, there are so many layers to the story and to Leda, that as viewers, we must remain on high alert to pick up all the queues and subtleties. Watching Nina with her daughter and husband sends Leda deep into her past ... a past that still haunts her to this day. At the same time, while gazing at Leda, Nina can't help but wonder if she is looking at her own future self.

Much of what we see (past and present) reinforces the isolation and frustration felt by so many mothers. It has nothing to do with loving one's kids, but rather maintaining one's sanity and self-being. There are a few key moments, including one that creates tension between Leda and the vacationing family, and another that immediately connects the two. Leda's past includes steps that would be considered taboo for any wife and mother, and the symmetry of her past and Nina's present are striking.

Peter Sarsgaard (director Gyllenhaal's real life husband) has a supporting role in the flashbacks, while Dagmara Dominczyk plays a critical role as Callie, part of Nina's large family. Bonus points are won with a Leonard Cohen reference (that may or may not be true), and also playing key roles here are a missing doll (connecting Leda's past and present) and the proper way to peel an orange. Cinematographer Helene Louvart works wonders balancing the beautiful setting with the not-always-beautiful actions of the characters. Especially potent here is the performance of Olivia Colman, who proves she can play most any role. It's also remarkable what first time director Maggie Gyllenhaal has accomplished here. This is a multi-layered, nuanced look at how relentless parenting can often feel overwhelming and may even lead to feelings of guilt later in life. It's rare to see such a raw look at the emotions behind what is often referred to as the joy of motherhood. The film leaves little doubt that the always-dependable actor Maggie Gyllenhaal is now one of the most interesting new filmmakers on the scene.

In select theaters on December 17, 2021 and on Netflix beginning December 31, 2021.

During her vacation Leda witnessed an incident that that remembered her of her darkest moments as a mother .

It was a bit slow for me, not a lot of things happening, but it worth your time of course.

It shows how the motherhood can be one of the most beautiful and hard experiences at the same time in a woman's life.

The film's structure is remarkable especially the way they presented the present and the previous time back and forth .

What made me watch this movie while I'm late I guess is what I heard about performances, the beautiful Olivia Colman was fascinating, for Jessi Buckley I had a problem with the character itself and it's instability, but her acting was at it's finest.

Two Oscar worthy nomination for these two, playing the role of the same character in different periods of time.

Some good performances from Dakota Johnson and Ed Harris that I always appreciate his presence.

Finally, I want to say that Maggie Gyllenhaal offered us a beautiful pure drama so her Oscar nomination is deserved I suppose.

" I'm an Unnatural mother".

When this film ended, I was left wondering what it was exactly that I just watched and felt like I was trying to find a deeper meaning within the film that I'm not even sure is really even there. Throughout the entire film, I was waiting for something to happen that would tie certain scenes together to make the story line more cohesive and make more sense and provide some sense of closure in regard to the plot and the actions of the main character. But at the end of the film, there I was... still waiting. There were scenes that were completely irrelevant to the story (for example, the scene with the hikers). I kept waiting for that scene to become relevant later in the film, but it never did. It was just "filler," I guess. As far as the acting goes, it was fine, as was the directing. I think the main failure of this film is the plot in general. Basically, it tries to build up a lot of intrigue (and does a decent job at that) but then in the end, you're still left struggling to find meaning and relevance and make connections that don't exist. And because of that, the film comes off as a bit pretentious due to its failed attempt to explore the main character's complex psychological state but even in that, it barely skims the surface.

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.