Based on the book by Karen Dionne, The Marsh King’s Daughter sees Helena Pelletier (played by Daisy Ridley) trying to forget her childhood of growing up in isolation. It comes to light while she’s still a young girl (Brooklynn Prince) that her father, Jacob Holbrook (Ben Mendelsohn) kidnapped her mother and kept her hostage while trying to project the facade of a happy family. After her father’s arrest, Helena eventually grows up and goes onto live a relatively normal life, getting a job as an accountant, marrying Stephen Pelletier (Garrett Hedlund) and raising a daughter named Marigold (Joey Carson). But, when her father escapes from prison, her past comes back to haunt her and the lessons he taught her as a child kick in.
Every once in a while a film comes along and a performance is so good that you can’t imagine anyone else in the role. Daisy Ridley fits that bill here. She’s magnificent as she plays the complicated Helena effortlessly despite the character calling for a diverse range of emotions throughout the film. Her vulnerability standing in the driveway after Stephen begs her to “let him in” should lead her For Your Consideration reel. Likewise, Brooklynn Prince shines in the moments she’s given as the younger version, especially being such a focal point early. The audience could lose interest before the film even really starts were it not for the strength and believability of her performance.
Director Neil Burger makes excellent work of building the drama and the suspense throughout. He faithfully takes the spirit of Dionne’s novel and brings her story to the screen. Using the score as musical cues and utilizing future and past dialogue pieces to give the audience insight into why Helena is doing the things she’s doing makes the project even more enjoyable.
Unfortunately, as good as the first two acts are, the third is disappointing. Starting with Helena in the pit, a lot of awfully convenient things happen in order to move the story along. There were three instances where I either smirked in disbelief or literally rolled my eyes and those things are never good. A movie is supposed to be something you can get lost in. It should never break the illusion that what you’re watching is real. The first two acts absolutely did that. I was invested in the story and the characters, clamoring to know how it was all going to play out. But, during that final act, I was reminded that I was watching a movie multiple times and that was disappointing.
Ridley deserves some award consideration and Prince will be on my Music City Film Critics Association ballot for Best Young Actress. I’m thrilled for Dionne as her book made it to the big screen in really great shape, paving the way for a whole new audience to embrace the characters she created. Despite the third act leaving a lot to be desired, this film is absolutely worth your time. Here’s to hoping it carves out a nice box office return because Ridley, Prince and the first two acts deserve it.
JKG SCORE: 7.0
Untitled Film Project 