Based on Elena Ferrante‘s book of the same name, Maggie Gyllenhaal‘s terrific directorial debut, the Gotham Award-winning film “The Lost Daughter” is about a woman’s beach vacation in Greece, which takes a dark turn when her obsession with a young mother forces her to confront the secrets of her past. The movie uncovers the complex notions of guilt and resentment that can build up when confronting how motherhood is all-consuming.
Gyllenhaal’s movie unravels as sort of a mystery, with linguist Leda Caruso (played by an exceptional Olivia Colman) on vacation, and how the proximity of a relatively new mother (Dakota Johnson) begins to unleash memories of the past when she struggled as a mother (the younger version of herself played by Jessie Buckley).
Leda’s not exactly a conventional mother, or at least not the picture-perfect Instagram mom. She’s bitter and resentful at the way motherhood has interrupted her life and how the emotionally complex demands of this role interfere with her peace of mind and professional life—essentially all the things most parents grapple with when adjusting to parenthood, but rarely talk about because they do not want to be seen as callous narcissists.
It’s perhaps easy to see Leda as an “unnatural mother,” as this new Netflix video exclusive talks about, discussing the contradictions and complexities of the character and Colman’s immersive performance in the role. In the clip, writer/director Maggie Gyllenhaal, producer Osnat Handelsman-Keren, plus Colman, and co-stars Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris, Peter Sarsgaard, and Paul Mescal, all discuss one another, the intricacies of who Leda is a person, how she struggles, and the mesmerizing ensemble performances that help craft a striking drama about a woman losing herself in her difficult-to-face memories.
“The Lost Daughter” was released theatrically in the U.S. on December 17, in a limited release, and begins streaming on Netflix on December 31. “The Lost Daughter” made our 25 Best Films Of 2021 list and you can watch this new Netflix video featurette exclusively below.