THE DAUGHTER

The story follows a man who returns home to discover a long-buried family secret, and whose attempts to put things right threaten the lives of those he left home years before. —IMDB

THE DAUGHTER is an excellent Australian movie starring some great actors — Geoffrey Rush, Anna Torv, and Miranda Otto. Odessa Young puts in an excellent turn as Hedvig. And it’s great to see Sam Neill pop up in an Australian movie again. The story develops slowly, effectively builds unease, twists and turns in subtle ways, and climaxes with a powerful ending. The acting is very good with natural performances. It’s based on a novel by Ibsen called The Wild Duck. The characters are superbly developed throughout the story along with a soundtrack that is sparsely used and melancholy. The cinematography that makes use of the Australian bush complements the story. A very satisfying movie with a powerful message that all of us are profoundly impacted by our pasts.