Small world: Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn have both starred in acclaimed Star Wars films (The Force Awakens and Rogue One). Years later, they’re sporting American accents for a tense new thriller with characters that probably didn’t come as much of a challenge to play for either Hollywood star. The Marsh King’s Daughter feels like a tale we’ve heard before, and not just because it’s based on a book (by Karen Dionne). The whole thing feels like a combination of past films like Room, Eye for an Eye, Cape Fear, Captain Fantastic, and even Where the Crawdads Sing.
Still, it’s a delight seeing Ridley return to the spotlight, especially since she’s clearly committed to this starring role. And a splash of Mendelsohn in any feature never fails, right? Though it does become sadly obvious about halfway through The Marsh King’s Daughter that the pair deserve a juicier feature, an effect similar to Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal tackling an iffy project like Foe.
Confronting Your Hidden Past
Release Date November 3, 2023
Director Neil Burger
Cast Daisy Ridley, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooklynn Prince, Gil Birmingham, Caren Pistorius, Garrett Hedlund
Rating R
Runtime 1hr 48min
Ridley plays Helena, but the film starts with the protagonist as a child, played by Brooklynn Prince (The Florida Project, Cocaine Bear). She lives in the wilderness with her dad Jacob (Mendolsohn) and her mom (Caren Pistorius). Helena goes hunting with her dad, who calls her “Shadow” and tells her, “You must always protect your family” — a message that cleverly resurfaces later in the film.
In the meantime, Jacob protects his seemingly happy family from wolves and outside civilians passing through — even if they don’t mean any harm. But once violence ensues (without giving away too much), Helena’s mom grabs her and escapes from Jacob. It’s a successful effort that introduces Helena to civilization, and that’s when we learn that her dad is a fugitive who kidnapped her mom 12 years earlier and forced them to live in the wild.
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Years later, it is Ridley now playing Helena, living a seemingly peaceful life with husband Stephen (Garrett Hedlund) and young daughter Marigold (Joey Carson). Helena’s dad, who the media dub “the Marsh King,” remains in prison — but then, it happens: He escapes! This all transpires pretty early on, so it’s not exactly a surprise twist. Something was bound to happen to keep Jacob in the mix, especially with an award-winning actor like Mendelsohn playing the role.
And speaking of, it’s too bad we don’t see more of him here, since he’s such a versatile performer, as showcased in Bloodline, The Place Beyond the Pines and The Outsider. Oh well. Better late than never, since his juiciest scenes come in the more thrilling third act. But more on that later. When the news of his escape first reaches Helena, she of course goes into panic and soon revisits her past by traveling back to her old stomping ground that was forced upon her and her mother, who is no longer around.
Predictable Turn of Events
Helena also gets a visit from local cop Clark (the reliably solid Gil Birmingham from Under the Banner of Heaven and Hell or High Water) amid the troubling news, since it was Clark who helped keep Helena and her mom safe during their escape all those years ago. Meanwhile, her husband Stephen isn’t too pleased that Helena kept her dark past a secret from him all this time, though we can understand why she might not want to revisit all that in adulthood.
Then, the police cook up yet another surprising update surrounding Jacob’s fate, leaving Helena even more confused about what’s real and what’s been rigged by her dangerous dad with hopes of reuniting with her. On a psychological level, she starts to lose it a bit, thinking she sees him at a public market but then deciding he’s nowhere to be found. That doesn’t mean Helena won’t go straight home and set up invisible wire around her house that will instantly notify her if there’s a home invader lurking about…
Related: Best Daisy Ridley Movies, Ranked
We can’t help but see it coming that Helena ultimately returns to her childhood home, the titular “marsh” a second time, seemingly convinced that the evil presence of her father is still ever present. As she wanders through the wilderness, we see flashbacks of both happy and traumatic memories: her dad teaching her survival skills; her dad physically abusing her mom; her dad giving the usual fatherly advice.
Lionsgate
It all builds to an ultimate showdown that sees Helena ironically using her dad’s own words and teachings to help guide her to safety. Film enthusiasts will appreciate the occasionally flashy camera angles and movements, but that’s unfortunately not enough to mask the fact that we’ve seen tales like this on the big screen time and time again. The likable Clark character resurfaces later in the film, which is a breath of fresh air, but it doesn’t exactly last long.
The third act will certainly keep you in your seat, but it follows a long stretch of B-movie revenge vibes and rather thin characters, especially Hedlund as the frustrated husband of Helena. He has proven himself over the years to be a wide-ranging actor, so it would have been nice to see a few more layers to his role. Nonetheless, Star Wars fans of the now-famed Rey Skywalker will surely enjoy seeing Ridley back in action.
From Lionsgate, The Marsh King’s Daughter is exclusively in theaters today, Nov. 3.
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