What to watch from the couch: Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut 'The Lost Daughter' best of new stuff
HARK!
I hear…clicking…
With the Omicron variant peaking before a—hopefully—speedy retreat, it might be a good weekend to grab the remote and retreat to the couch.
Of newish offerings, Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut “The Lost Daughter,” on Netflix and in theaters, is one of the best.
It’s almost by definition a chick flick, as a pair of mothers struggle with the reality of raising very annoying children
Gyllenhaal's direction is at times profound and always confident. A terrific actor, she is right at home behind the camera, taking her time with unusual shots that frame the emotions of her heroine, expertly played by the excellent British actress Olivia Colman.
My only complaint is that the annoying kids don’t just drive their mothers batty—they bugged the hell out of me, too.
But the acting is top notch, especially by Colman and Jessie Buckley, who plays a younger version of her character.
It’s strange to see Colman as a fairly normal character in “The Lost Daughter,” after seeing her craft a charmingly offbeat character on the HBO Max miniseries "Landscapers.”
As Colman’s protective husband, David Thewlis is terrific as usual (just slightly less creepy than in "I'm Thinking of Ending Things").
As an unbalanced old movie lover, Colman is breaking my heart. Nothing like rooting for killers…
The first two shows speed by, propelled the Thewlis and Colman. Gets a bit clunky, after that.
This is based on the true story of an English couple who spend years on the run after doing some very-illegal gardening. I won’t spoil what they plant.
Nothing much to spoil on “Bergman Island,” which pretty much spoils itself.
Playing on Hulu, writer-director Mia Hansen-Løve gets off to a nice start with the tale of a popular movie director—solidly played by Tim Roth—who visits the island where the great director Ingmar Bergman lived and worked.
But “Bergman Island” totally fizzles when it goes off on a long, silly tangent about a story Roth’s wife (Vicky Krieps) is writing.
Bergmanesque?
Nope.
Just cringe-esque.