'The Marsh King's Daughter' movie review: Fairly engaging psychological drama

Still from The Marsh King`s Daughter

Film: The Marsh King's Daughter
Cast: Daisy Ridley, Ben Mendelsohn, Garrett Hedlund, Caren Pistorius, Brooklynn Prince, Gil Birmingham, Joey Carson
Director: Neil Burger
Rating: 2.5/5
Runtime: 108 min.

The Marsh King's Daughter, is an intriguing story about the complexities in family, identity, and legacy based on the book of the same name by Karen Dionne, which was a #1 international bestseller. The script has been adapted by Elle Smith and Mark L. Smith from the novel. The story is entrancing and had enough potential for thrills but the treatment here doesn't lend it much thrust in that direction. The narrative focuses much more on the effects of psychological trauma than it does on thrill seeking. So what you get is heavy emotion laden drama. What's interesting here is the juxtaposition of the darkness of the human soul against the unsullied rawness of nature.

After a lifetime of trying to escape her past, Helena(Daisy Ridley) is forced to face her demons when her father notoriously known as The Marsh King, Jacob Holbrook (Ben Mendelsohn) unexpectedly escapes from prison.

The film opens with the young Helena (Brooklyn Prince) sharing poignant moments in the wilderness with her father.The sequence looks idyllic but what comes next is not. Helena's missed shot disrupts their hunting expedition and we get to feel some undercurrents that were not previously visible.

Those who have read the book and enjoyed it would find this film pretty tame. It's a complex story with complex characters and finding the balance between form and content would have been a hard ask for anyone. The story delves into an intricate web of family dynamics, redemption, harking back to a haunting dark past. Daisy Ridley is compelling as a resilient woman striving to lead a conventional suburban life but the rest of the film is merely window dressing. The predictability in the plotting and few cliched moments makes the enjoyment dim. There are a few elements of visceral gore that are affecting, though. The narrative here lacks depth and seems rushed. The characters, especially that of Helena, don't feel rounded or developed. The trite, sometimes melodramatic dialogues are another problem. The pace is sedentary too. The camerawork is captivating though. The cinematography captures the picturesque marshland settings and of urban life, with verve. An unsettling background score sets the tone for eerie apprehension to creep in. This is a solid drama underpinned with psychological themes and manages to be fairly engaging!