The Lost Daughter takes a pseudo-intellectual approach to maternity problems, while paradoxically showcasing its directionless anthology of explorative moments with a very melodramatic cinematography (filled to the brim with close-ups of contorted faces). Most of these moments hold some truth to them and give the characters some life. Leda is a guilt-ridden mother. Nina is a young mother unsatisfied with life. Both of them see something of themselves in each other. That thing is the moving force of their life choices: selfishness. Their concern with life is their own happiness and contentment. For that exact reason they are unable to find neither happiness nor contentment. That's my view and interpretation of what the movie explored, but I'm pretty sure it's self evident. Nonetheless, that's just one the film's many plot threads, and even though it's the main one, it gets buried underneath uncanny sexual tensions and unjustified conflicts (that lead nowhere) in the second half of its overlong 2 hour running time.
What really intrigues me is: after the nostalgia session most of the movie is about, how come Leda never learnt a lesson from all that? Every memorable (good or bad) moment of our lives instills in us some kind of prejudice. We live through complex situations, and to take something out of it to use again in similar situations, we have got to simplify the lesson learned. Much like the movie narrative structure, Leda too was a passive observer of her own life.
After the film tells us Leda and Nina are alike, there is no more development. Leda felt - and quite possibly, still feels - like Nina regarding life, and through the years learnt nothing at all, reaching the point of their encounter where the only connection between them is this flimsy excuse - that they feel discontent with their lives (oh, and they both have daughters). There is no point to their relationship, rendering the movie pointless as well. It's like the director wanted to explore the subject matter without interfering and taking a position, but made the mistake of telling the story through a character's eyes, making it seem like the character herself also didn't have an opinion on what transpired in her life. She knew she did something wrong but didn't know why.
In short, The Lost Daughter is, quite simply, an odyssey of selfishness and immaturity with no real conclusion.
What really intrigues me is: after the nostalgia session most of the movie is about, how come Leda never learnt a lesson from all that? Every memorable (good or bad) moment of our lives instills in us some kind of prejudice. We live through complex situations, and to take something out of it to use again in similar situations, we have got to simplify the lesson learned. Much like the movie narrative structure, Leda too was a passive observer of her own life.
After the film tells us Leda and Nina are alike, there is no more development. Leda felt - and quite possibly, still feels - like Nina regarding life, and through the years learnt nothing at all, reaching the point of their encounter where the only connection between them is this flimsy excuse - that they feel discontent with their lives (oh, and they both have daughters). There is no point to their relationship, rendering the movie pointless as well. It's like the director wanted to explore the subject matter without interfering and taking a position, but made the mistake of telling the story through a character's eyes, making it seem like the character herself also didn't have an opinion on what transpired in her life. She knew she did something wrong but didn't know why.
In short, The Lost Daughter is, quite simply, an odyssey of selfishness and immaturity with no real conclusion.