Fathers and Daughters (2015)
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A Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist struggles to raise his daughter while battling the physical and mental consequences of a tragic accident.
The story
The film follows the lives of Jake Davis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, and his daughter Katie across different periods. After a car accident leaves Jake with brain damage and seizures, he struggles to cope as a single father while his writing suffers. Meanwhile, Katie grows into a young woman who navigates complex relationships and intimacy issues. The narrative alternates between Jake's past as a father trying to maintain his career and family life, and Katie's present as she works as a social worker, dealing with her own emotional hurdles and the lingering effects of her father's legacy.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
The story alternates between the past and present. In the past, Jake Davis, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, is involved in a car accident while arguing with his wife about his past infidelity. His wife dies, and Jake suffers brain damage and seizures. After seven months of treatment, he returns home to find his sister-in-law Elizabeth and her husband William want to adopt Katie. Jake rejects this, struggling as a single father while his writing suffers and his seizures worsen. Elizabeth and William eventually sue for custody, but the lawsuit is dropped when William is revealed to have impregnated his secretary. Jake finishes his book, 'Fathers and Daughters,' but dies from a head injury caused by a seizure. His final book wins a posthumous Pulitzer. Twenty-five years later, Katie is a graduate student studying psychology, known for being promiscuous. She becomes a social worker and helps a girl named Lucy, who has stopped speaking since her mother's death. Lucy is eventually adopted, but Katie is hurt by the lack of contact. Katie begins a relationship with Cameron, a man who admires her father's work. Despite intimacy issues and a brief period of cheating and a breakup, Katie and Cameron eventually reconcile.
- First release year
- 2015
- Runtime (minutes)
- 116
- Production countries
- United States; Italy
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Gabriele Muccino
- Writers
- Brad Desch · writer
- Cast and characters
- Russell Crowe · Jake Davis; Amanda Seyfried · Katie; Aaron Paul · Cameron; Diane Kruger; Quvenzhané Wallis; Bruce Greenwood; Jane Fonda; Octavia Spencer
- Genres
- drama
- Themes
- father-daughter relationships; grief; addiction; trauma; legacy
- Tone and mood
- melodramatic; somber
- Premise and plot tags
- drama; family dynamics; writer's life
- Content notes
- casual sex; depression
- Reception
- The film received mostly negative reviews from critics, with a Rotten Tomatoes score of 28% and a Metacritic score of 31%.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 28% · review count: 50; Metacritic · score: 31% · review count: 17
- Production trivia
- James Horner was initially announced to compose the music but was replaced by Paolo Buonvino.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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