by Jake Hjort, Contributing Writer
Only a few years removed from her star-turning role in the Star Wars sequel trilogy, Daisy Ridley is trying to make a name for herself as a serious actor playing the eponymous character in the psychological thriller The Marsh King’s Daughter. The film focuses in on Ridley’s character, Helena, a woman who was born and raised in the backcountry of Michigan after her mother (Caren Pistorius) was kidnapped by the crazed survivalist, Jacob Holbrook (Ben Mendelsohn), also known as the Marsh King. Completely entranced by her father, Helena grows up in the woods, living off the land, until she and her mother are able to escape when she is 10 years old. 20 years later, Helena is now married, has a daughter of her own, and has largely reintegrated into society, but all of that is put at risk when her father escapes prison and is seemingly on his way to find her and reclaim his family.
When playing Rey in the Star Wars films, Ridley’s performances were always solid — never bad, but never really given a chance to shine either. In The Marsh King’s Daughter, she took the spotlight and never let go. I found her performance to be incredibly captivating, hitting a perfect balance of fearful anxiety and poised confidence as she deals with the threat of her father’s return. Speaking of her father, Mendelsohn gives a great performance as well. He’s proven over the course of his career that he can play a good villain, and that is certainly true in his role as the Marsh King, flipping like a switch between kindness and intimidation. Brooklynn Prince, best known for her breakout role as Moonee in The Florida Project, was a delight to see in this as well, playing a younger Helena during her childhood in the wilderness.
My favorite part of the film by far is the atmosphere that it creates. I’m a sucker for a good thriller, and The Marsh King’s Daughter does a great job of cranking up the tension and making you feel uneasy. The score, composed by Adam Janota Bzowski, is dissonant and unnerving, and the film is shot almost entirely with a handheld camera, moving around just enough to make you uncomfortable but not nauseous. Having travelled to Michigan’s upper peninsula a few times myself, I can tell you that it feels like it is one of the most isolated parts of the country, and the film does a great job of capturing it and using it to it’s advantage to enhance the mood.
Unfortunately, despite the film’s great performances and tone, it really struggles to produce an interesting plot. The story itself is simple and plods along rather slowly, causing me to check my watch more often in this 108-minute movie than I have in some recent films with two-and-a-half to three hour runtimes. There are a few fun moments and jump scares, but otherwise, everything is fairly predictable, including some elements that I’m genuinely unsure whether they were supposed to be surprise twists or not, given how quickly I was able to sniff them out. Despite the interesting premise, the film also has remarkably little to say. I was expecting some interesting commentary on parenting, the dangers of punishing children for the sins of the parents, or the challenges of being raised by people without a firm grasp on reality, but I unfortunately found everything to be fairly surface level.
That being said, I still did enjoy the overall experience of The Marsh King’s Daughter. The performances, particularly Ridley’s, are all excellent, and I loved living within the world that the film creates, even if I didn’t particularly care for the way in which it travels around that world.
Rating: Low Side of Liked It
The Marsh King’s Daughter is currently playing in theaters
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