Just when we'd almost forgotten about the fifth famous brunette white man we're all horny for (others include Harry Styles, Timothée Chalamet, Keanu Reeves and Adam Driver), Paul Mescal has resurfaced! This time for Maggie Gyllenhaal's directorial debut, The Lost Daughter, where the Normal People star and king of silver jewellery will join an all star cast for the on-screen adaptation of Elena Ferrante's book of the same name. Below, is everything you need to know about the upcoming film.
The plot of The Lost Daughter
According to Netflix, the synopsis of the film reads "Alone on a seaside vacation, Leda (Olivia Colman) becomes consumed with a young mother (Dakota Johnson) and daughter as she watches them on the beach. Unnerved by their compelling relationship (and their raucous and menacing extended family), Leda is overwhelmed by her own memories of the terror, confusion, and intensity of early motherhood. An impulsive act shocks Leda into the strange and ominous world of her own mind, where she is forced to face the unconventional choices she made as a young mother and their consequences.”
Writer and actor Gyllenhaal will make her directorial debut, which she was drawn to after reading and feeling a sense that the themes would be ten-fold more visceral when translated onto screen, she told Deadline.
"When I finished reading Elena Ferrante's The Lost Daughter, I felt that something secret and true had been said out loud. And I was both disturbed and comforted by that. I immediately thought how much more intense the experience would be in a movie theatre, with other people around. And I set to work on this adaptation," she said. "I find that the script has attracted other people interested in exploring these secret truths about motherhood, sexuality, femininity, desire. And I'm thrilled to continue my collaboration with such brave and exciting actors and filmmakers." She said.
She also wrote the screenplay, and told Vanity Fair, "The process of taking a text as an actor, analyzing it, distilling it to, 'Why is this scene in this movie? Why do I think it's important?'…is, in an emotional and intellectual way, very similar to the way I worked on adapting the book."
The cast of The Lost Daughter
The Lost Daughter will star our personal queen, Olivia Colman as Leda and Libran angel Dakota Johnson as Nina. Oliver Jackson-Cohen will play Toni, Peter Sarsgaard will play Professor Hardy, and our beautiful Irish beef cake Paul Mescal plays Will. Jessie Buckley, Jack Farthing, Panos Koronis, Ed Harris, Robyn Elwell, Dagmara Dominczyk, Athena Martinand Ellie Blake will star alongside.
The release date
Having filmed in Greece this year, The Lost Daughter will premiere at the Venice Film Festival this September, and released in theatres on December 17. From December 31, Netflix subscribers will be able to view the movie on the streaming service.
The photos
Perhaps the most important part of this whole article is to share the first images from the film's upcoming release, especially that of Mescal, who already has our knickers in a twist with this image of him laughing at Colman with his palm on his face. Help!
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The trailer
Our first look at The Lost Daughter is finally here. As expected, we're savouring Paul Mescal's short, but nonetheless loin-stirring appearance. Aside from Mescal though, it's clear that Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson are the true draw cards of this film. We finished the trailer with chills and the kind of second-hand anxiety that comes with watching a psychological thriller. Bring on December!
