The Marsh King's Daughter (2023)
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A woman living a quiet suburban life is haunted by the reappearance of the father who held her captive in the wilderness for years.
The story
Young Helena lives in the Northern Michigan wilderness with her mother Beth and her father Jacob. While hunting, Jacob gives Helena tattoos as a reward for her progress. However, the family dynamic is fractured when Helena's mother tries to flee with her. After a violent encounter, Beth manages to get Helena to safety, claiming Jacob kidnapped her years prior. Years later, Helena lives a suburban life, hiding her past and her facial tattoos. Her peace is shattered when she learns that Jacob, her former captor, has escaped from prison and is searching for her.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Helena was raised in the Michigan wilderness by her father Jacob, who taught her to hunt and gave her tattoos as rewards. Her mother, Beth, eventually tried to escape with Helena, leading to a confrontation where Jacob killed a lost man and Beth knocked Helena unconscious to flee. Helena was rescued by Sheriff Clark, who told her she was safe, though she struggled to believe her mother's claims of kidnapping. Years later, Helena lives a suburban life with her husband Stephen and daughter Marigold, keeping her past a secret. When Jacob escapes from prison, the FBI alerts Helena. Despite her claims of no contact, Jacob tracks her down. He eventually appears at her abandoned childhood cabin, expressing a desire to take Marigold to Canada to 'be a family.' Helena confronts him with memories of his violence. Jacob kills Clark and traps Helena, but she manages to escape and pursues him through the wilderness. After a series of confrontations in the marshland, where Jacob shoots her in the leg, Helena throws herself and Jacob off a cliff into a river. She eventually retrieves a gun and kills Jacob, fulfilling his own lesson to protect her family, before returning to her home.
- First release year
- 2023
- Runtime (minutes)
- 108
- Production countries
- United States; Canada
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Neil Burger
- Writers
- Elle Smith · screenplay; Mark L. Smith · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Daisy Ridley · Helena; Ben Mendelsohn · Jacob; Garrett Hedlund · Stephen; Caren Pistorius · Beth; Brooklynn Prince · Marigold; Gil Birmingham · Clark
- Genres
- psychological thriller
- Themes
- captivity; family dynamics; trauma; ownership
- Tone and mood
- psychological; tense
- Setting
- Northern Michigan wilderness and a suburban home
- Premise and plot tags
- father-daughter relationship; prison escape; thriller
- Source material / true-story basis
- 2017 novel of the same name by Karen Dionne
- Reception
- The film received mixed reviews from critics.
- Reported review scores
- Metacritic · score: 47 · scale: 100 · review count: 14
- Production trivia
- The film was originally intended to be directed by Morten Tyldum with Alicia Vikander in the lead role.; The release date was delayed to November 3, 2023, to avoid competition with Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour.; Filming took place in Kent County and the Kawartha Lakes of Ontario, Canada.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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