--- title: "Elizabeth Is Missing" year: 2019 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/elizabeth-is-missing" fi1m_id: "elizabeth-is-missing" imdb_id: "tt8201352" tmdb_id: 653364 wikidata_id: "Q81794046" fi1m_score: 82 critics_score: 82 critics_reviews: 6 published: "2026-10-07T18:48:25.038698+00:00" updated: "2026-10-07T18:48:25.408022+00:00" region: "PL" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Elizabeth Is Missing (2019) Directed by Aisling Walsh · 1h 27m · Drama, Mystery ## Identity Elizabeth Is Missing - **Canonical:** https://film.one/film/elizabeth-is-missing - **Type:** Film - **Fi1m ID:** elizabeth-is-missing - **IMDb ID:** tt8201352 - **TMDB ID:** 653364 - **Wikidata ID:** Q81794046 - **Same entity:** https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8201352/, https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/653364, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q81794046 **Fi1m score: 82** · Critics 82 from 6 reviews *In a sentence:* The mystery can wait; Glenda Jackson is trying to remember something > Glenda Jackson makes this dementia drama painful and compelling, giving Maud an energy that resists easy pity. The mystery is less persuasive, and the pace occasionally drifts, but we recommend it for her performance. ## Synopsis Maud Palmer Horsham (Glenda Jackson) is living with dementia and trying to make sense of a mystery. Elizabeth (Maggie Steed) is missing, but Maud cannot depend on her own memory as she searches for answers. The story also follows Young Maud Palmer (Liv Hill) and includes Susan ‘Sukey’ Palmer Jefford (Sophie Rundle) and Helen (Helen Behan). Maud’s struggle to understand events unfolds alongside the effects of dementia on family life. Andrea Gibb adapts Emma Healey’s novel, with Aisling Walsh directing. ## Review *Elizabeth Is Missing* is a moving dementia drama with a mystery that does not always deserve its leading performance. Aisling Walsh directs Andrea Gibb’s adaptation of Emma Healey’s novel, allowing Maud Palmer Horsham to remain difficult as well as vulnerable. Glenda Jackson gives her enough force that we want to understand her even when certainty is out of reach. We recommend it with a warning: anyone chiefly interested in solving the case may find the plotting less rewarding. Glenda Jackson does not make Maud merely bewildered. There is impatience in the performance, and a stubborn energy that makes being understood seem urgently important to her. We found her confusion distressing because that determination remains so strong when her memory will not co-operate. The performance gives us someone with the capacity to demand our attention, become exasperating and suffer, without making any of those things cancel out the others. The film is attentive to what dementia does to a family, including the strain of trying to help someone whose understanding of events cannot be relied upon. Aisling Walsh avoids making patience seem easy, or treating exasperation as proof of a lack of love. A drama like this can become an exercise in congratulating the healthy for looking after the ill. Here, the difficulty of caring for Maud receives its due without taking attention away from her own distress. Lukas Strebel’s cinematography is unobtrusive enough to let us concentrate on the effort in the central performance. John Hand’s production design is similarly restrained; we attend to Maud rather than admiring the work around her. That modesty is useful in a film which could easily make suffering look tasteful and leave it at that. Dominik Scherrer’s music supplies sympathetic accompaniment, although the performance rarely needs help telling us how much this hurts. At 87 minutes, the film has little space to waste, which makes its occasional slow stretches noticeable. Alex Mackie’s editing sustains Maud’s uncertainty, but some passages prolong it without giving us much else to consider. We understand why a brisk succession of clues would be wrong for a story asking us to share her difficulty. Even so, there are stretches where the pace slackens after we have understood what the film needs us to understand. Andrea Gibb has the demanding task of turning unreliable recollection into an investigation that still needs to make sense. The plotting sometimes leans on coincidence, and a few developments do not withstand the attention the mystery invites. We will not describe where those problems occur. They are worth mentioning because the film asks us to follow events carefully, and we wanted firmer reasons for some of the connections it makes. Within the familiar territory of a drama about illness, the film distinguishes itself by allowing its central character so much stubbornness. Glenda Jackson keeps Maud from becoming a meek illustration of a diagnosis, and the compassion is more convincing for it. Those looking for the steady pleasure of clues falling into place should adjust their expectations. Watch it for her, and allow for a mystery that cannot quite keep up. *Fi1m score 82, published 7 October 2026.* ## What the critics say The reviews are uniformly positive about Elizabeth Is Missing, with praise centred on Glenda Jackson’s performance as Maud. Critics repeatedly describe her portrayal as nuanced and deeply affecting, giving the mystery a compelling human centre. There is also broad appreciation for the film’s treatment of dementia: the reviews value its compassion, psychological detail and ability to make Maud’s uncertainty felt, rather than simply explain it. Reservations concern the plotting more than the central performance, and differences are chiefly in the degree of enthusiasm. The i Paper finds the pace slow at times and some developments unconvincing under scrutiny. The Hollywood Reporter considers the storytelling tight but the mysteries middling. Paste is among the most enthusiastic, yet still questions the coincidences and unanswered questions in the conclusion. Even the warmer responses, then, leave room to distinguish the affecting personal drama from the less consistently persuasive mystery. ## Straight answers **Is Elizabeth Is Missing worth watching?** *Elizabeth Is Missing* is worth watching for Glenda Jackson’s forceful, distressing portrayal of dementia, and we score it 82. We recommend it as a compassionate character drama, but the occasional slow stretches and coincidence-dependent plotting make it less satisfying for anyone chiefly interested in solving the mystery. **How long is Elizabeth Is Missing, and what is it rated?** *Elizabeth Is Missing* runs 1h 27m. It is a drama and mystery film. **Where can I watch Elizabeth Is Missing in Poland?** *Elizabeth Is Missing* is not on any streaming or rental service in Poland at the moment. It is available in 4 other countries; change your country at the top of the page to see where. Availability is checked daily. **How does Elizabeth Is Missing compare to The Father?** *Elizabeth Is Missing* makes dementia painful through Glenda Jackson’s stubborn, vulnerable Maud, while [*The Father*](https://film.one/film/the-father) makes confusion more immediate through its shifting flat. We recommend *The Father* more strongly for that unsettling experience; *Elizabeth Is Missing* suits those drawn to a character-led mystery, though its plotting does not match its central performance. **Is Elizabeth Is Missing based on a true story or a book?** *Elizabeth Is Missing* is adapted from Emma Healey’s novel, with Andrea Gibb writing the adaptation and Aisling Walsh directing. No knowledge of the book is needed: we recommend approaching the film for its attention to Maud and the effects of dementia on family life, rather than expecting a consistently persuasive mystery. **What should I watch after Elizabeth Is Missing?** After *Elizabeth Is Missing*, try [*The Father*](https://film.one/film/the-father) (2020, Fi1m 89): Another dementia drama that makes uncertainty part of the viewing experience. Then [*Poetry*](https://film.one/film/poetry) (2010, Fi1m 87): An older woman faces failing memory and a difficult moral reckoning; and [*Away from Her*](https://film.one/film/away-from-her) (2006, Fi1m 82): Memory loss tests a marriage, with tenderness that never makes things simple. ### Reviews we read (6) - **The Guardian**, Lucy Mangan (90/100, inferred): Mangan praises the film as a heartrending, compelling portrait of dementia wrapped in a murder mystery. She singles out Glenda Jackson’s nuanced, mesmerising performance as its outstanding strength. [Read](https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/dec/08/elizabeth-is-missing-review-glenda-jackson-shines-in-this-heartrending-whodunnit) - **Variety**, Caroline Framke (90/100, inferred): Framke finds the film a deeply affecting, disorienting mystery that makes the viewer share Maud’s uncertainty. She singles out Glenda Jackson’s ferocious, charismatic performance as the element that grounds the story. [Read](https://variety.com/2021/tv/reviews/elizabeth-is-missing-review-glenda-jackson-2-1234878177/) - **The i Paper**, Jeff Robson (★★★★): Robson calls it a poignant personal drama, anchored by a superb central performance from Glenda Jackson. He notes that the story unfolds too slowly at times and that some plot developments do not withstand close scrutiny. [Read](https://inews.co.uk/culture/television/elizabeth-is-missing-bbc1-review-glenda-jackson-371447) - **Evening Standard**, Alastair McKay (75/100, inferred): The review finds the adaptation thoughtful and psychologically engaging. It especially praises Glenda Jackson’s richly human, nuanced performance. [Read](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/tvfilm/elizabeth-is-missing-glenda-jackson-a4306951.html) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Daniel Fienberg (70/100, inferred): Fienberg finds the film tightly told and worth watching, though its mysteries are only middling. He singles out Glenda Jackson’s nuanced, heartbreaking performance as its towering strength. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-reviews/elizabeth-is-missing-tv-review-4110155/) - **Paste**, Allison Keene (9.2/10): Keene finds the film haunting, beautiful, and effective, while noting that its conclusion relies on coincidences and leaves questions unanswered. She especially praises Glenda Jackson’s portrayal of Maud and the film’s compassionate depiction of dementia’s effects on families. [Read](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/elizabeth-is-missing/elizabeth-is-missing-review-pbs) ## Details - **Director:** Aisling Walsh - **Director:** Aisling Walsh - **Writer:** Andrea Gibb - **Novel:** Emma Healey - **Cinematography:** Lukas Strebel - **Editor:** Alex Mackie - **Music:** Dominik Scherrer - **Production design:** John Hand - **Costume design:** Gill Horn - **Producer:** Chrissy Skinns - **Cast:** Glenda Jackson as Maud Palmer Horsham; Maggie Steed as Elizabeth; Sophie Rundle as Susan 'Sukey' Palmer Jefford; Helen Behan as Helen; Liv Hill as Young Maud Palmer; Nell Williams as Katy; Mark Stanley as Frank Jefford; Neil Pendleton as Douglas - **Runtime:** 1h 27m - **First release (the UK):** 8 December 2019 - **Genres:** Drama, Mystery - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d2ejTIsfBeA ## Where to watch in Poland Not streaming, renting or buying in Poland at the last check. Also available in: CA, GB, IE, US. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *The Father* (2020), Fi1m 89: Another dementia drama that makes uncertainty part of the viewing experience. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-father.md) - *Poetry* (2010), Fi1m 87: An older woman faces failing memory and a difficult moral reckoning. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/poetry.md) - *Away from Her* (2006), Fi1m 82: Memory loss tests a marriage, with tenderness that never makes things simple. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/away-from-her.md) - *The Lady Vanishes* (1938), Fi1m 88: For the missing-person mystery, and the frustration of not being believed. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/the-lady-vanishes.md) - *A Separation* (2011), Fi1m 93: Family care becomes painfully complicated when everyone has reasons for their behaviour. — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/a-separation.md) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/elizabeth-is-missing