The Marsh King's Daughter

The Marsh King's Daughter is based on the novel of the same name by Karen Dionne. It tells the story of Helena Pelletier(Daisy Ridley). Helena goes after the man who kidnapped her mother, to safeguard her family's future.

The Marsh King's Daughter is a pretty good film. However, it would have been fantastic if it had just been fast-paced, like how a thriller should be. Usually, slow-burn movies build up to an electrifying climax. However, that's not the case with this film. Even during its final act, it still doesn't pick up the pace. The cinematography by Alwin H. Kukler is gorgeous. The performances are the movie's strongpoint. Daisy Ridley is spectacular as Helena Pelletier. Ben Mendelsohn is outstanding as Jacob Holbrook. Brooklynn Prince is fantastic as Young Helena. Gil Birmingham is great as Clark. Caren Pistorius is brilliant as Helena's mother. Garrett Hedlund is excellent as Stephen Pelletier. Joey Carson is adorable as Marigold Pelletier. The Marsh King's Daughter is not a must watch in theatres. However, watch it on streaming if you have time to kill.

3 out of 5 stars.

The Marsh Kings Daughter is a fair psychological thriller film that has a good story. The script and direction is dull with a plain direction and flat characters.

The acting was okay with its cast ensemble. Daisy Ridley did her best with what was given. The characters were thinly written. It does have some thrills with Daisy trying to protect her family. And searching for her father which leads to a thrilling climax in the forest. The film lacks itself from being memorable or any different. It could have been better with a stronger script and sharp direction. Overall it was an okay film.

I don't like to be that person who says the book was better, but in this case I couldn't enjoy the film because I had read the book. The film felt rushed and it lacked deepness: the story, the characters and the relations between them lacked deepness. Everything happened really fast and what we got to see from the main character's childhood wasn't enough. Since it lacked deepness, some moments seemed like they made no sense.

My boyfriend hadn't read the book, but he went to see the film with me and he also felt like it was rushed and that they just tried to summarize a complex story with complex characters.

It's a very good story though and it will keep you entertained, specially if you know nothing about it. Also the acting isn't bad at all. I give it a 6 based on the film itself, ignoring the existence of the book.

Anyway, I hope you get to enjoy it.

In mild thriller "The Marsh King's Daughter" Ben Mendelsohn's arrested after holding Caren Pistorius captive in the US wilds, where she had Brooklyn Prince who she & Mendelsohn raised for 12 yrs. Years later Prince (now Daisy Ridley) has a child of her own (via hubbie Garrett Hedlund) who Mendelsohn comes for (or does he?) on escaping prison. Director Neil Burger styles it like "Where The Crawdads Sing" / "Lou" but it's lower quality, thanks mainly to the co-writing duo of debutant Elle Smith & "The Covenant" co-writer Mark L Smith whose script is implausible, hole-filled & short-cutting. Gil Birmingham lends decent support, but this one is only just passable.

I was really looking forward to this, purely based off on vibes. I didn't have any prior knowledge about it. The lighting's off; it looked like there was a filter on the entire time. Personally, I would have preferred it to have a more natural look because the filter didn't really enhance anything. I just started watching 'Siren' and Gil Birmingham plays a cop there too, which was a very similar role, identical really.

The story here is pretty intriguing, though it has no mystery element making it feel predictable. From the title alone, I thought it'd be similar to 'Where the Crawdads Sing,' but the similarity only lies in the setting. It reminds me somewhat of 'Stockholm, Pennsylvania' (2015) with Saoirse Ronan, although I find the story better here, but not the movie itself. It begins similarly, with a girl who was kidnapped, but her father never hurt or abused her, so she's distraught when he's portrayed as a monster. Difference is here we time jump decades later, Her past still affects her as she now has her own family and life and stuff.

The movie, in my opinion, is average; nothing exceptional, making it quite forgettable. I wasn't too invested in the characters. It's a slow-paced psychological thriller, not too emotionally intense, and the high points didn't quite hit their mark. The third act was probably always going to be challenging to execute. I couldn't think of a more natural ending for the story so it didn't bother me too much. I think it was intentionally kept simple and straightforward, because it had the potential to be much darker and more intricate.