Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut, based on the novel by Elena Ferrante, is a wonderfully thought-out start to the new year
Elena Ferrante’s slim, (144 pages) 2008 novel is brought to life by Maggie Gyllenhaal for her directorial debut. Academics Leda (Olivia Colman), 48, decides to go on vacation to Greece after her daughters leave to join her father and her ex-husband, Joe (Jack Farthing).
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Initially enjoying her independence and the gentle attention of caretaker Lyle (Ed Harris), Leda soon grows into a boisterous Neapolitan family, most notably a young mother Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her three-year-old daughter Elena (Athena Martin). Gets confused. ) watching mother and daughter, Leda is reminded of her own struggles as a student and mother to her young daughters, Bianca (Robin Elwell) and Marta (Allie Blake), while Joe, also an academic , was mainly absent at work.
Whatever happens to Nina brings back memories for Leda. When Elena is lost and the entire beach is co-opted to look for her, a young Leda (Jesse Buckley) remembers losing Bianca and is looking for her at Marta’s hip. Nina’s attraction to resort assistant Will (Paul Mescal) reminds Leda of her relationship with scholar Professor Hardy (Peter Sarsgaard). While playing with Elena, Nina reminds her to “snake” orange peels for Bianca and Marta.
lost daughter
- Director: Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Cast: Olivia Colman, Dakota Johnson, Jesse Buckley, Paul Mescal, Dagmara Dominic, Jack Farthing, Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Peter Sarsgaard, Ed Harris
- Story: A relaxing beach vacation goes anything for a middle-aged professor who faces past demons
- Duration: 121 minutes
The nanny plays a key role in this story of becoming a mother, daughter and mother to the doll that Elena loses. Nanny reminds Leda of her doll Mina or Mini-Mama as her mother called her. The worm emanating from the doll and the muddy sea water echo Leda’s vague thoughts on motherhood. Leda feels that her beautiful mother has taken out the worst parts of her by giving birth to her, and takes pity on the “poor beings” that come out of her belly. lost daughter Layered in the title. who is the lost daughter; Elena, Nina, Bianca, Marta or Leda?
One can see the beginnings of Ferrante’s incredible Destiny Quartet, which have been adapted into my brilliant friend Available at The Lost Daughter by HBO and on Voot. In Nina, Will can be seen as Lila’s kernel, as well as Stefano who vaguely threatens Nino and Nina’s husband, Tony (Oliver Jackson-Cohen).
The Golden Ocella Award for Best Screenplay at the Venice International Film Festival, where the film premiered, was well deserved for Gyllenhaal. She has given form to Ferrante’s words, whether it is “mother is only a daughter who plays”, Leda’s agitated “I am a person not a function”, or “dominant camaraderie”.
Gyllenhaal proves the universality of Ferrante’s work by shifting the action from Italy to Greece and basing Leda in New York instead of Florence. Changing Leda’s translation studies from Italian to English from the book underscores the fluidity of lived experiences, while Leda is working on translating W.B. Yeats into Italian, referring to “chocolate on chocolate” as a character commentary. Kind, echoes Yates’ eerie beauty. and swan’. In addition to Yates, there’s also the chill of WH Auden and Crooked Wing for literature junkies.
A beautiful looking movie and great acting (one can’t take one’s eyes off Coleman), lost daughter A wonderfully thought-out start to the new year.
The Lost Daughter is currently streaming on Netflix
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