Leda (Olivia Colman) has taken a holiday in Greece with the aim of doing some work whilst spending a lot of time relaxing on the beach. But when she meets Nina (Dakota Johnson) and her child it brings back painful memories of her past as a mother to young children. 

Flashbacks to Leda as a young mother (played by Jessie Buckley) show her struggling to juggle her career and look after her children whilst her husband focuses on his work. We see moments of love and adoration as well as resentment and disdain. All of which come flooding back to her as she witnesses how similar Nina’s life is to hers. 

Based on a novel by Elena Ferrante and written and directed by Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Lost Daughter is an engrossing drama looking at the emotional difficulties of not being a natural mother. The flashback structure slowly builds to and reveals the deepest secrets of both Leda and Nina and a resolution that asks the audience if they believe their emotional traumas can be overcome. 

Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are both phenomenal as Leda. Both are able to emote a million feelings without needing to say a single word and really make you believe the character’s motivations and actions. Whilst in support Dakota Johnson looks both radiant and despairing as another struggling mother. 

Maggie Gyllenhaal has often impressed in her acting career in the likes of Secretary and Crazy Heart but given the strength of this film which happens to be her debut as both a writer and director in a feature film perhaps her future is behind the camera rather than in front.