The Marsh King's Daughter

A very enjoyable thriller which starts stronger than it finishes, The Marsh King's Daughter is about a young woman stalked by her criminal father after she starts a new life away from him after he abducted her mother many years previously. Can she sever the still-lingring attachment she feels towards him forever?

I must say, I was surprised to discover the low rating for the movie on here. As far as I'm concerned, it gripped me it's mixture of our titular protagonist adapting to city life with her new family after spending so long in the wilderness, and the tension-packed present when she discovers her supposely dead convicted papa might not be so deceased after all.

So after both the drama and suspence are both top notch, the fact the film ends with one of those oh-so-predictable violent struggles struggles out of the Hollywood playbook was a tad dispiriting, not not enough to stop me from giving it any less than 7/10.

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.

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.

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.