Based on Ibsen’s stage play The Wild Duck, writer/director Simon Stone’s The Daughter is a brooding, authentic family drama littered with unpleasant personalities – the father/son duo of Geoffrey Rush and Paul Schneider in particular.
It’s a dour affair as Schneider returns to the rural New South Wales logging town from a self-imposed exile in the US following his mother’s suicide. Family secrets he reveals turn friendships upside down.
The Daughter is powerfully performed, with a bevy of local Australian actors at their best – but it’s Ewen Leslie who is mesmerising. It’ll undoubtedly feature in end-of-year Australian award nominations.
[Update – a number of acting awards were picked up by Odessa Young]
Rating: 69%
Director: Simon Stone (The Turning)
Writer: Simon Stone – based on The Wild Duck by Henrik Ibsen
Main cast: Geoffrey Rush (Shine, The King’s Speech), Paul Schneider (Water For Elephants, Bright Star), Ewen Leslie (Jewboy, The Railway Man), Sam Neill (Jurassic Park, Dean Spanley), Odessa Young (TV’s Wonderland, Tricky Business)
An Opinion or Two 
Great review thank you. I’m surprised how little critical acclaim the film has received. Its a fine theatrical adaptation, well acted, with great tension lines from beginning to end. Drop in for a read of my take.
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