MVFF44 (Bronze/Silver)

For her indelible feature directing debut, Maggie Gyllenhaal (MVFF Mind the Gap Award, 2018) adapts Elena Ferrante’s 2006 novel, in which a vacationing professor’s concern for a young mother triggers an uneasy reckoning with her own volatile introduction to parenthood. Oscar®-winner Olivia Colman commands in the prickly lead role, effortlessly navigating a tempestuous sea of subtext. Psychological undertones imbue a rich register of suspense that transcends genre. Gyllenhaal’s provocative, emotionally intelligent sensibility is as finely developed in writing and directing as it has been in her acting, and what’s so bold about The Lost Daughter is its refreshingly frank assessment of the tension between fulfillment in erotic adult life and responsibility for the nurturance of children. Also to Gyllenhaal’s credit, Colman’s shrewdly cast co-stars, including Jessie Buckley, Dakota Johnson, Ed Harris, and Peter Sarsgaard, seem like kindred spirits.