---
title: "The Lost Daughter: the reviews"
canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-lost-daughter/reviews"
title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-lost-daughter"
critics_score: 79
critics_reviews: 26
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."
---

# The Lost Daughter (2021): what the critics said

Critics' score 79 from 26 reviews: 21 positive, 5 mixed, 0 negative.

Most critics respond warmly to The Lost Daughter, with praise centred on Olivia Colman’s conflicted, expressive performance and Jessie Buckley’s portrayal of the younger Leda. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s direction also draws approval for its intimacy and its willingness to examine motherhood, ambition and regret without judging the women involved. The reviews repeatedly credit the film with turning ordinary frustrations into psychological tension, while finding its close attention to women’s experience unusually perceptive.

The spread runs from enthusiastic praise to mixed assessments, with no outright negative verdicts. Reservations cluster around an unwieldy structure, flashbacks that explain too much and an ending several critics find weak or unconvincing. Slant Magazine regards the adaptation as reductive despite Colman’s performance, while Radio Times departs from the broad admiration for Buckley by finding her miscast. Even among the positive reviews, the film’s ambiguity and lack of firm answers are not always considered strengths.

## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan

Rating 5/5. 16 December 2021. 

O'Sullivan praises the adaptation as a powerful achievement that elevates its source material. She especially singles out Olivia Colman's darkly comic, award-worthy performance.

[Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-lost-daughter-review-maggie-gyllenhaal-olivia-colman-elena-ferrante-b960080.html)

## Time Out — Phil de Semlyen

Rating 5/5. 24 December 2021. 

The critic gives the film a strongly positive verdict, calling the adaptation dizzyingly brilliant. Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley are singled out for sharing the acting honours.

[Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-lost-daughter-2021)

## Los Angeles Times — Guy Lodge

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 2021. 

Lodge finds Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut thrilling, empathetic and bold in its portrayal of unorthodox femininity. He especially praises Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley’s performances and their uncanny physical and gestural mirroring.

[Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-12-16/lost-daughter-review-netflix-maggie-gyllenhaal-elena-ferrante)

## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2021. Festival review. 

Rooney calls the film a highly accomplished, mesmerizing debut and an uncompromising character study. He praises the performances, especially Jessie Buckley’s portrayal of Leda’s conflicted feelings about motherhood and ambition.

[Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/olivia-colman-in-maggie-gyllenhaals-the-lost-daughter-1235005205/)

## Variety — Peter Debruge

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2021. 

Debruge praises the film as a brilliant, subversive drama, while noting its risks. He singles out Gyllenhaal’s nuanced direction and the performances of Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley for conveying the story’s rich subtext.

[Read the review](https://variety.com/2021/film/reviews/the-lost-daughter-review-maggie-gyllenhaal-1235054843/)

## Vulture — Alison Willmore

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 2021. 

Willmore calls the film an incredible debut and an unusually adult, precisely observed work. She particularly praises Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley’s seamless performances and the film’s nuanced depiction of maternal ambivalence.

[Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2021/12/the-lost-daughter-movie-review-maggie-gyllenhaal.html)

## The AV Club — Noel Murray

Rating B+. 15 December 2021. 

Murray finds the film haunting and astute, though its ending loses momentum and satisfaction. He praises how Gyllenhaal turns everyday frustrations and the regret of parenthood into nerve-jangling tension.

[Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/the-lost-daughter-is-a-haunting-astute-drama-about-how-1848214001)

## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 16 December 2021. 

Bradshaw finds the film an absorbing, stylish psychological drama, though its ending is somewhat tame and implausible. He especially praises Olivia Colman’s rich, complex performance and Jessie Buckley’s complementary work as the younger Leda.

[Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2021/dec/16/the-lost-daughter-review-olivia-colman-shines-in-elena-ferrante-missing-kid-drama)

## The i Paper — Christina Newland

Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 September 2021. Festival review. 

Newland finds the film a darkly compelling, slippery thriller that embraces the messiness of women’s lives. She especially praises Olivia Colman’s magnetic, nuanced performance and Gyllenhaal’s nonjudgmental depiction of motherhood.

[Read the review](https://inews.co.uk/culture/film/the-lost-daughter-film-review-olivia-colman-maggie-gyllenhaal-paul-mescal-venice-1185123)

## Empire — Ella Kemp

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 13 December 2021. 

Kemp finds the film sophisticated and seductive, though somewhat unwieldy and more questioning than conclusive. She singles out the performances and Gyllenhaal’s sensual visual style for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/the-lost-daughter/)

## Sight and Sound — BFI

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 15 December 2021. 

The critic finds the film alluring, sharply unsettling and richly actorly. They especially praise the performances and the growing understanding between Leda and Nina.

[Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/lost-daughter-explores-dark-side-motherhood-with-risky-drama-that-feels-closer-thriller)

## Screen Daily — Wendy Ide

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2021. Festival review. 

The review presents the film positively, highlighting Olivia Colman’s tour-de-force performance. The visible text singles out her acting for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-lost-daughter-venice-review/5162992.article)

## The New York Times — Manohla Dargis

Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2021. 

Dargis gives the film a positive assessment, finding its portrait of motherhood compelling. She singles out Olivia Colman’s performance for praise.

[Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2021/12/30/movies/the-lost-daughter-review.html)

## The New Yorker — Richard Brody

Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 3 January 2022. 

Brody finds the film sluggish and dramatically diminished by its adaptation choices, yet calls it a major achievement. He praises its rare attention to women’s lives and intimate experience, while criticizing the loss of the novel’s reflective voice.

[Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/maggie-gyllenhaals-the-lost-daughter-is-sluggish-spotty-and-a-major-achievement)

## Little White Lies — Sophie Monks Kaufman

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. 

The critic finds the film ambitious and atmospheric but structurally unwieldy. Colman and Buckley’s gutsy performances are singled out as its strongest feature.

[Read the review](https://lwlies.com/festivals/the-lost-daughter-venice-film-festival-review)

## Radio Times — Max Copeman

Rating 3/5. 

Copeman gives the film a mixed verdict, praising Olivia Colman’s performance. He considers Jessie Buckley miscast as the younger Leda.

[Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movie-guide/b-8qa2aq/the-lost-daughter/)

## Slant Magazine — Diego Semerene

Rating 2/4. 6 December 2021. 

The review finds the adaptation reductive and overly explanatory, despite its moments of insight. It praises Olivia Colman’s expressive performance while faulting the flashbacks for spelling out what made the novel compelling.

[Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-lost-daughter-review-maggie-gyllenhaal-olivia-colman/)

## The Skinny — Anahit Behrooz

Rating ★★★★★. 3 September 2021. Festival review. 

Behrooz finds the film devastating and perceptive in its exploration of motherhood, desire, and regret. She especially praises Gyllenhaal’s intimate camera work and fragmentary flashbacks, alongside Jessie Buckley’s performance.

[Read the review](https://www.theskinny.co.uk/film/new-releases/venice-film-festival-2021-the-lost-daughter)

## The Wrap

Fi1m's normalised score 95/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2021. Festival review. 

The critic calls the film a triumphant, perceptive debut that explores the pressures society places on mothers. They especially praise Gyllenhaal’s nuanced direction and Olivia Colman’s emotionally expressive performance.

[Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-lost-daughter-film-review-maggie-gyllenhaal-olivia-colman-dakota-johnson/)

## Digital Spy — Gabriella Geisinger

Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 31 December 2021. 

The critic calls the film brilliant and emotionally engrossing, praising Maggie Gyllenhaal’s sensitive handling of its women’s intersecting stories. They particularly single out the nuanced, nonjudgmental character arcs and the performances of the ensemble cast.

[Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a38568143/the-lost-daughter-review-netflix/)

## Paste — Aurora Amidon

Rating 8.8/10. 15 December 2021. 

Amidon praises the film as an astute, complex portrait of womanhood and its painful expectations. She singles out Gyllenhaal’s tactile visual storytelling and the lead actresses’ performances, especially Olivia Colman’s.

[Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/netflix/the-lost-daughter-review)

## Den of Geek — Don Kaye

Rating 4/5. 31 December 2021. 

Kaye calls the film an unsettling, poignant, terrific directorial debut, though its deliberate understatement and ambiguity may leave some viewers struggling to connect the dots. He especially praises Olivia Colman’s nuanced performance, alongside Jessie Buckley’s portrayal of young Leda.

[Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/the-lost-daughter-review-olivia-colman/)

## Deadline — Pete Hammond

Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 3 September 2021. Festival review. 

Hammond finds the film a powerful, aching portrait of motherhood, though its difficult subject may not work for every audience. He especially praises Olivia Colman’s quietly expressive performance as a woman confronting her past.

[Read the review](https://deadline.com/2021/09/the-lost-daughter-venice-film-review-director-maggie-gyllenhaal-and-olivia-colman-team-for-devestating-story-of-a-mothers-crisis-of-conscience-1234823952/)

## NME

Fi1m's normalised score 78/100 (inferred from the text). 

The review finds the film an enthralling, daring portrait of a woman pulled between conflicting impulses. It particularly praises Olivia Colman’s masterful performance, while noting that some flashbacks lack subtlety.

[Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/film-reviews/the-lost-daughter-review-olivia-colman-maggie-gyllenhaal-3120202)

## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson

Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2021. 

Wilkinson finds the film compelling for its nuanced, non-judgmental view of motherhood. She particularly praises Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley’s performances and the cinematography’s intimate framing.

[Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-lost-daughter-2021-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson)

## HeyUGuys — Adam Solomons

Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). Festival review. 

Solomons finds the film a bold, thorny debut that falls short of its early promise. He praises the performances, especially Olivia Colman and Jessie Buckley, but faults the weak ending.

[Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-lost-daughter-review/)

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-lost-daughter.md