Sharkflei Your blood may run cold, but you now find yourself pinioned to the story.

Lollivan It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.

Mandeep Tyson The acting in this movie is really good.

Brooklynn There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

ajlondon The first half hour it is nearly impossible to figure out where the movie is headed... Which can be good or bad. I was afraid the whole movie was just going to be drift around with no point. (That is not the case)Then, you 'get it' and understand what is happening. But WHY? It is so disturbing. There is less than 15 seconds of humor in the whole film.It is extremely emotionally taxing.Normally, when anything in any genre is well made I instantly enjoy it.This was wonderfully produced, acted, and well written but the topic. Too much...Why make such a dark movie?

geowolff Great cast. Lovely production. Aussie settings. Based on Ibsen's The Wild Duck. What could possibly go wrong? A horrible screenplay. If you haven't figured out where this is going in the first 20 minutes, then maybe you'll enjoy a sense of shock and discovery. Otherwise, The Daughter delivers an operatic buildup to a melodramatic climax. Typical of a bad writer/director, the film ends on a note the leaves the hard work to the audience to imagine for itself. Try watching the best production of The Wild Duck from the 1980's with Stellan Skarsgaard, set appropriately in Scandinavia and much more restrained, holding its secrets close to the vest, unlike this unfortunate effort.

popnruss There are spoilers in this review. The Daughter is an exceptionally well done film.The acting talents of Ewen Leslie, Odessa Young, and Sam Neiill are phenomenal. They bring to each of their characters believability, honesty, and vulnerability. Miss Young's last scene with the duck she has been caring for is the most touching. Sam Neill is incredible as the grandfather who truly loves his granddaughter. Ewen Leslie is tremendous as the betrayed husband who has done a great job raising the daughter he learns is not his. Paul Schneider does an excellent job convincing the audience that he is a broken man who has nothing else to lose but to tell his good friend the truth about his friend's wife and daughter. Geoffrey Rush is always good. I really enjoyed this film. Most of the films produced in Australia are very good.

Fiurilli 'The Daughter' written and directed by Simon Stone is the big screen adaptation of a screenplay from the late nineteenth century. In this film we follow a character Christian who returns to his hometown only to discover an old family secret that can ruin the lives of those involved should this news come to light.This movie features many different subplots that slowly unfold while the bigger overarching story is taking place. These subplots are mostly meant to give the many characters some much needed backstory. One problem with them however is that most of them do not seem to develop in an organic way and appear forced. Another problem is that more often than not the outcome is extremely predictable. As soon as a situation is set up it is almost always clear how it will end and quite a few times characters would act out of character just to make this ending possible. The same is true for the main plot considering one of the main characters only exists to set up certain story elements. This character never has a concrete reason for most of his actions while a lot of times his behavior does has a very emotional impact on some of the other characters. Just like the many subplots the main story is as predictable as can be. There is never really a moment where you're left wondering what is about to happen and what is left is a movie that is slowly progressing towards its end. Over the course of the film a heavy emphasis is put on the characters. Most of the actors did a decent enough job to portray their character however the performance of Paul Schneider as Christian was simply abysmal. His performances never seemed genuine and whenever he appeared on the screen I was immediately taken out of the movie. This in turn made the performances of the other actors seem a lot worse than they actually were and ultimately there really is not a single performance that can be considered memorable. The directional style of Simon Stone also leaves much to be desired. There are some incredibly weird cuts during conversation and a lot of times the camera is focused on characters with their mouths closed while their voice can be hear from a shot that is about to follow. Now Stone did not fail completely as there are some gorgeous shots present in this film. These shots are mostly environmental ones and even though they are quite beautiful they almost always feel out place. The movies soundtrack also does not seem to fit the movie very well and a lot of times it appears to be forcing a certain emotion way to obviously. The basic premise of the film could have provided some interesting scenario's however the convoluted story, terrible soundtrack and poor writing have made this an impossible feat. In the end 'The Daughter' was a complete waste of time with few redeeming qualities. My rating: 4/10