In The Marsh King’s Daughter, Rey is forced to confront some major daddy issues—no, not Palpatine. Daisy Ridley turns in a strong performance in this engrossing though far-from-perfect drama-thriller.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!I watched The Marsh King’s Daughter on a pan-Atlantic flight, having skipped it upon its original release due to middling reviews. Though far from perfect, it’s a perfect airplane movie. And is better than the criticism it has faced.
About a woman whose traumatic past comes back to haunt her—she was born and raised in the woods to a father she loved, only to discover that he actually kidnapped and held his mother hostage all those years—The Marsh King’s Daughter has a lot to unpack and several directions it could go.
It goes the most conventional and predictable path, which is moderately entertaining and serves its purpose for two hours while sitting in an airplane seat. Ben Mendelsohn makes for a creepily sinister bad guy, and the film culminates with a satisfying climax.
And yet there is a more complex and powerful story at play that the movie fails to unearth. Can you imagine growing up loving your father and everything about your life only to be told that he was a horrible human being? How do you come to terms with that? How does that affect your family? How would you process it all if you were to come face to face with him as an adult?
The movie of course touches on these questions but is largely disinterested in answering them. The conventional thriller outweighs the psychological elements, which is a shame because it would have been interesting to see Ridley—primarily known for her Star Wars work—push herself.
The Marsh King’s Daughter is a serviceable drama and an entertaining thriller. It never amounts to the sum of its parts, however, with plenty of opportunity left off screen.
Review by Erik Samdahl unless otherwise indicated.
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2024-12-12 18:41:00
