‘The Marsh Kings Daughter Review: Daisy Ridley And Ben Mendelsohn Lead A Strong Cast In A Formulaic Suspense Drama

There are some dialogues in the film that you immediately know you will hear again in the film. In the opening scenes of Neil Berger's 2017 film, based on Karen Dion's novel The Swamp King's Daughter, we see a father leading his young daughter through the forest and teaching her to hunt. He is kind and considerate, but also determined not to shy away from the harsh realities of nature. And he utters this important commandment: “You must always protect your family.”

The macho sound comes not from Clint Eastwood or Arnold Schwarzenegger, but from Ben Mendelsohn as Jacob, later known as the Swamp King because he lives off the grid in the remote swamps of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Any similarity to Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tale is purely coincidental. Not only does he live there with Beth (Karen Pistorius), whom he kidnapped 12 years ago, and with whom he has a 10-year-old daughter, Helena (Brooklyn Prince, who had such a big influence on the Florida Project ). .

One day, as Jacob wanders alone, a lost stranger comes across the small cottage where the family lives. Beth takes the opportunity to escape with him, while Helena, unaware of her true situation, reacts with anger and confusion. Jacob suddenly reappears and shoots the stranger, but Beth and Helena manage to escape and go to the police station, where they are helped by a fellow police officer (Gill Birmingham, Yellowstone ).

The now adult Helena (Daisy Ridley) is married to Steven (Garrett Hedlund), who has no idea about her past and is raising a young daughter, Marigold (Joy Carson). We find out the whole story when the police come to her house and tell her that her father, who was in prison, has escaped and is trying to get back in touch with her. It is also revealed that Clark married her now-deceased mother and raised Helena to adulthood.

Helena, fearing that Jacob will try to kidnap her and Marigold, is not entirely convinced when she learns that her father's remains, marked by his three gold teeth, have been found in a car accident. And so do we, because if he had really died, the film would have ended the same way it began.

Take inspiration from stereotypical horror movie mechanics, both real and imagined, as Helena begins to recognize ominous signs of Jacob's presence. When physical evidence of her existence appears in her daughter's bedroom, she travels to the remote cabin where she grew up, leading to a fateful encounter in which she paradoxically uses the same survival skills she taught him years ago Repeated instructions she gave him. . He got it once.

It's hard not to feel like a lot was lost in the transition from book to film. Director Berger ( Divergent , The Illusionist ) is out of breath, perhaps too out of breath. A prologue and several flashbacks describe Helena's upbringing as clearly problematic (Mendelssohn doesn't look too young), but the characters and situations lack depth. Many characters, including Beth and Helena's husband Stephen, to whom she reveals the origin of her tattoo in a poignant scene, are mere ciphers. Perhaps the novel fills in the gaps to build a compelling story and presents itself here as a thriller with horror and a brutal climax.

Actors transform almost everything that happens into something more. Mendelssohn gives a truly stunning performance as the uptight “Swamp King,” who calls Helen “Little Shadow” and is confused enough to believe she would welcome his arrival; Ridley brings fierce intensity and athletic physicality to the conflicted Helena; And Birmingham has a touching soul as an adoptive father.