Movie review
December 15, 2021 · 122 min · R
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
A middle-aged professor takes a solo vacation in Greece and becomes obsessed with a young mother and her daughter on the beach. This obsession triggers flashbacks to her own past raising two young daughters, during which she abandoned them temporarily to pursue her academic career and personal freedom. The film centers on the female protagonist’s ambivalence toward motherhood and her decision to put herself first. It challenges cultural expectations of selfless motherhood as a burdensome role for women.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Lost Daughter.
Woke representation / casting
No forced diversity or identity signaling in casting.
Woke political dialogue
No explicit activist or political dialogue.
Identity-driven story themes
Story is driven by female protagonist’s ambivalence toward motherhood and prioritizing career over family.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Challenges cultural expectations of selfless motherhood as burdensome for women.
Woke character or canon changes
Production
Not relevant.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
Fringe criticism of feminist themes but no major backlash or widespread woke complaints.
Creator track record context
Maggie Gyllenhaal frames film with feminist language on maternal taboos and women’s filmmaking.
