The Eternal Daughter

  • Title: The Eternal Daughter
  • Director / Writer: Joanna Hogg
  • Executive Producer: Martin Scorsese
  • Production: Element Pictures / A24
  • Award: Nominated Golden Lion Venice International Film Festival 2022
  • Official Selection: 2022 Venice International Film Festival
  • Official Selection: 2022 Toronto International Film Festival
  • Official Selection: 2022 London International Film Festival
  • Official Selection: 2022 New York International Film Festival
  • Starring: Tilda Swinton / Joseph Mydell / Carly-Sophia Davies

The gloomy weather makes it almost impossible to distinguish between morning and evening, as if they were trapped in an atemporal space. For this hypnotic ambience, Hogg reunites with cinematographer Ed Rutherford, the craftsman behind the humble visual panache of her early projects “Exhibition” and “Archipelago.”

Carlos Aguilar, THE WRAP*****

Reflections and versions of the self eerily run through Hogg’s latest film, The Eternal Daughter. Here, though, we step away from 1980s London and into present-day (very foggy) Flintshire, Wales. Hogg creates a lush, spooky gothic atmosphere, captured beautifully in 16mm by cinematographer Ed Rutherford. The old creaking trees, the whistling wind, and the dusty glow of light in the distance call to mind the works of past English masters like Nicolas Roeg and Alfred Hitchcock. But the stunning Gothic mansion ahead isn’t Rebecca’s Manderley. It’s the Moel Famau Hotel, and two guests have just arrived.

Sophia Ciminello, Awards Watch*****

It can’t be understated that visually; “The Eternal Daughter” is a beautifully constructed masterpiece of noir-mystery atmosphere. Its central location is just a marvel with its isolation and the dark narrow hallways making it have a good mystery atmosphere with some dashes of horror, giving it almost a life of its own.

Ed Rutherford’s cinematography adds to the atmosphere excellently with the use of fog effects and the foreboding surrounding forest giving the film a palpable presence of suspense that’s felt every time Julie walks outside at night. There’s truly this haunting presence felt throughout, and the film’s music gives it the perfect splashes of noir that evoke the vibes of Albert Hitchcock thrillers like “Rebecca”(1940).

Tom Moore, In Their Own Leauge*****

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