The Lost Daughter

Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut netted her the Best Screenplay award at the Venice Film Festival in September, and it deserved it: her adaptation of Elena Ferrante’s novel is an incisive look at one woman’s attempt to come to terms with her past as a less-than-perfect mom. The great Olivia Colman stars as Leda, on a working vacation in Greece, who is drawn to a young, careless mother (Dakota Johnson) at the beach and soon finds herself thinking back on all her own motherly mistakes. Colman, Jessie Buckley—who plays the younger Leda in flashbacks—and Johnson are all riveting, and the idyllic Greek island setting is in stark contrast to the turbulent emotions that rise to the surface…

‘Brilliant… In this remarkable directorial debut, Maggie Gyllenhaal challenges conventional thinking about motherhood… Through it all, Gyllenhaal assumes an unfussy, practically invisible non-style that conveys the essential… while privileging the performances. Working with French DP Hélène Louvart, she trusts in her ensemble, giving them rich reams of subtext to play, rather than putting words in their mouths.’—Peter Debruge, Variety