Combining the careful directorial debut of Maggie Gyllenhaal and the usually masterful performance of Olivia Colman and you get The Lost Daughter, a movie that has become one of the most celebrated movies at the 94th Academy Awards. The movie stars Colman, alongside Dakota Johnson, Peter Sarsgaard, Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal, and Oliver Jackson-Cohen. The movie’s plot is as follows, according to Rotten Tomatoes: “Alone on a seaside vacation, Leda becomes consumed with a young mother and daughter as she watches them on the beach. Unnerved by their compelling relationship, (and their raucous and menacing extended family), Leda is overwhelmed by her own memories of the terror, confusion and intensity of early motherhood. An impulsive act shocks Leda into the strange and ominous world of her own mind, where she is forced to face the unconventional choices she made as a young mother and their consequences.” The movie garnered universal acclaim from critics, with Caryn James of the BBC particularly praising Colman’s performance in the movie: “Colman can make Leda simply driving a car seem dramatic, as the expression on her face quietly captures the emotional turmoil she tries so hard to contain. And Gyllenhaal can turn an image of rotting fruit into a jump-scare.” If you’re interested in seeing more movies similar to The Lost Daughter, here are a few recommendations.
Mother!
Mother! features a powerhouse cast in Academy Award winners Jennifer Lawrence and Javier Bardem, as well as Ed Harris, Michelle Pfeiffer, Domhnall Gleeson, Brian Gleeson, and Kristen Wiig. The plot of the movie features Lawrence and Bardem as a couple renovating a remote house in the countryside. “A young woman spends her days renovating the Victorian mansion that she lives in with her husband in the countryside. When a stranger knocks on the door one night, he becomes an unexpected guest in their home. Later, his wife and two children also arrive to make themselves welcome. Terror soon strikes when the beleaguered wife tries to figure out why her husband is so seemingly friendly and accommodating to everyone but her.” RogerEbert.com wrote about the divisive nature of the movie, which is what Darren Aronofsky, the film’s director, intended it to be. “Mother!” is going to make people angry. It’s going to make people ecstatic. It’s that kind of film—a movie that feels like it was purposefully made to be divisive, and completely unapologetic and unrestrained in terms of its creator’s vision. Love it or hate it, and there will be many on both sides, it’s a film people will talk about, which is both exactly what Aronofsky wants, and what we should demand more of from our movies.”
Precious
A grueling movie depicting a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship, Precious stars Gabourey Sidibe, Mo’Nique, Paula Patton, Mariah Carey, Sherri Shepherd, and Lenny Kravitz. The plot of the movie is as follows: “Pregnant by her own father for the second time, 16-year-old Claireece “Precious” Jones (Gabourey Sidibe) can neither read nor write and suffers constant abuse at the hands of her vicious mother (Mo’Nique). Precious instinctively sees a chance to turn her life around when she is offered the opportunity to transfer to an alternative school.” For her role in Precious, Sidibe received critical acclaim, even earning her a nomination at the Academy Awards. Mo’Nique, on the other hand, won a Best Supporting Actress award, a surprise win for the actress who was previously more popular for her comedic roles. IndieWire wrote of her performance: “When discussing comedians who became dramatic actors, Oscar winners Robin Williams and Jamie Foxx come to mind, as do Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. But none had a more extreme transformation than Mo’Nique for Precious.”
Tully
Another poignant movie that focuses on the struggles of motherhood, Tully stars Charlize Theron, Mackenzie Davis, and Mark Duplass. Pajiba took note of the existential and philosophical undertones of the movie, writing: “If who you were is who you still are is an existential question Tully raises with Theron as its center and forces you to wonder for yourself, too, whether you’re a mother or not.” Talking to NPR about what drew Theron to star in the movie, she said: “I read this script when I was myself just coming out of that dark tunnel of [motherhood] … My second kid was around five or six months old. … I’d just moved her out of my bedroom. … She didn’t need me every two hours and I felt like a person again. And so, reading this, it felt very familiar. I was like, wow, I just went through this.” This movie is truly a must-watch if you’ve just finished with The Lost Daughter.
Stepmom
Starring Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, and Ed Harris, Stepmom deals with critical moments in motherhood. The movie was directed by Chris Columbus. While the movie was praised for the performances of Roberts and Sarandon, critic consensus decided that their A-list acting wasn’t enough to earn the movie more positive reviews. Still, you’ll find the movie Stepmom in lists of movies to watch when talking about crises in motherhood. Jami Bernard of The New York Daily News wrote: “It’s a lovely daydream, made lovelier by the fiercely maternal performance of Sarandon as a lioness protecting her cubs, and Julia Roberts as a mass of insecurity trying to measure up to impossible standards.”
Spencer
Spencer is a highly fictionalized depiction of Princess Diana’s life at the final moments of her marriage to Prince Charles. The movie stars Kristen Stewart as the People’s Princess, who earned an Oscar nomination for the movie. Spencer depicts Princess Diana, first and foremost, as a mother to her children, Willam and Harry, and how her role as a mother is further complicated by her place in the Royal Family. Mark Feeney of the Boston Globe wrote a glowing review of Spencer’s characterization of Princess Diana: “What must it be like for an actor to play a famous person, let alone one this impossibly famous? The challenge starts with resemblance, and Stewart gets Diana’s wounded-deer manner, the sulky eyes, the slight tilt of the head.”
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