The Lost Daughter (2021)
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A woman on holiday in Greece finds herself entangled in a complex emotional dynamic with a young mother and her child.
The story
While on holiday in Greece, middle-aged university professor and noted translator Leda Caruso meets Nina, a young mother, after Leda reunites Nina with her three-year-old daughter Elena, who has momentarily gone missing on the beach. Leda and Nina start talking, and Nina expresses her growing exhaustion and unhappiness. The narrative explores the complexities of their lives as they navigate the beach setting, with Leda's past as a mother and Nina's current struggles coming into focus. The story builds tension as Leda's personal secrets and the search for a lost doll create a bridge between the two women's disparate experiences of motherhood.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
While on holiday in Greece, Leda Caruso, a professor and translator, meets Nina, a young mother, after helping her find her missing daughter, Elena. As they talk, Nina reveals her unhappiness. The plot weaves in flashbacks of Leda's own past, where she struggled with her two daughters, Bianca and Martha, and eventually abandoned them for three years. The tension rises as Leda secretly keeps Elena's lost doll and discovers Nina is having an affair with Will. At a market, Leda confesses her past to Nina, admitting she felt 'amazing' when away from her children. When Nina confronts Leda about the doll, Leda admits she was 'just playing' and warns Nina that her depression will never go. Nina reacts by stabbing Leda with a hatpin. Leda, injured, drives off the road and collapses on the shore. She eventually wakes up and calls her daughters, who are relieved to hear from her. The film ends with Leda peeling an orange like a snake, a gesture she used to do for her daughters.
- First release year
- 2021
- Runtime (minutes)
- 121
- Production countries
- Greece; United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Maggie Gyllenhaal
- Writers
- Maggie Gyllenhaal · writer
- Cast and characters
- Olivia Colman · Leda; Dakota Johnson · Nina; Jessie Buckley · Nina; Paul Mescal · Will; Dagmara Domińczyk; Jack Farthing; Oliver Jackson-Cohen; Peter Sarsgaard; Ed Harris
- Genres
- psychological drama
- Themes
- motherhood; abandonment; identity
- Tone and mood
- somber; tense
- Setting
- Greece, specifically a beach and a resort.
- Premise and plot tags
- psychological drama; motherhood; holiday
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2006 novel by Elena Ferrante
- Reception
- The film was acclaimed by critics and received a standing ovation at its premiere. It received high scores on Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, with critics praising the performances and the ambitious story.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 94% · scale: percentage · review count: 237; Metacritic · score: 86 · scale: 100 · review count: 51
- Awards and nominations
- Best Actress · Academy Awards · nomination; Best Supporting Actress · Academy Awards · nomination; Best Adapted Screenplay · Academy Awards · nomination
- Production trivia
- The lead character's name is inspired by a W. B. Yeats poem.; The film was ranked in the top 100 best movies of the 2020s by IndieWire.; The score was released as a separate album.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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