Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ‘Lost Daughter’ is a stunner
Motherhood. It’s such a rich subject for art to ponder, you’d think we’d have already seen every kind of mother onscreen.
But actually we haven’t. Sure, we’ve seen good moms, bad moms, crazy moms, selfish moms, generous moms, loving moms, cold moms. But what strikes home so vividly in “The Lost Daughter,” Maggie Gyllenhaal’s gorgeous directorial debut, is how rarely
we see a mother who is all those things at once. And yet honestly, what could be more real than that?
On my first viewing of Gyllenhaal’s film, adapted from an Elena Ferrante novel, I was preoccupied with Olivia Colman in yet another blazing performance (is there anything Colman can’t do?), a veritable onion shedding layers as she plays Leda, a prickly yet exceedingly vulnerable 48-year-old academic.
But there’s another facet to this film that makes it a rarity. On second viewing, what transfixed me was the synergy between older Leda and younger Leda, played by Jessie Buckley as a
mother on the cusp of 30. Gyllenhaal interweaves their stories with a deft touch that deepens the connection as the film progresses, to the point where nary a doubt remains that they’re the same person. Do they look alike? Outwardly no, I guess, but there’s an inner connection that’s astonishing (the two actors never meet, of course). The casting choice — it was Colman who suggested Buckley — is simply inspired.
“The Lost Daughter,” a Netflix release, has been rated R by the Motion Picture Association of America “for sexual content/nudity and language.” Running time: 122 minutes.