The Lost Daughter, Landscapers, and when Kanye met Julia
Olivia Colman supremacy, plus a new celeb coupling that knows how to work the press
Hello!
On this week’s episode of Criticism Is Dead, we discuss The Lost Daughter and Landscapers, two works that explore the complexities of codependency, whether in motherhood or in marriage.
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02:53 The Lost Daughter, streaming on Netflix, is a brutal, intimate, unforgettable film about what it means to be a mother.
Motherhood is a whole universe of theses unto itself: its pressures, its cruelties, its joys, its regrets; how society both needs and devalues it; how it is depicted onscreen and in culture; the binary that often shapes its image, that of the saint or the monster. The Lost Daughter embraces these complications and nuances, to stunning and often painful effect.
This is (thankfully) what we get when we have films made by intelligent, thoughtful women — like director Maggie Gyllenhaal — who can excavate the psyche of womanhood and motherhood. In an interview with the New York Times, she talks about why it’s so rare to see motherhood highlighted this way in films:
Partly there hasn’t been a lot of space for women to express themselves, so an honest feminine expression is unusual. But there’s also a kind of cultural agreement not to talk about these things because we all have mothers. We’re all like, I don’t want my mother to have been ambivalent.
22:03 Landscapers, a limited series on HBO, is a love story — dressed as a true crime drama — underpinned by questions of fantasy, delusion, and reality.
This miniseries is less concerned with the real crime on which it is based than it is with the interior lives of its characters, as they have been reimagined for this ambiguously sympathetic retelling. Susan, the central character, finds solace in fantasy, escapism, and cinema (for good, or at least understandable, reasons). Christopher, her husband, not only enables her world of fantasy, but also willingly joins her in it, while also trying to protect that world from the cold reality that would puncture it. They’re two delusional people, and in that sense, a perfect match for each other, although they are doomed for it.
It’s a show that’s full of artistry — director Will Sharpe employs a number of techniques and stylistic devices — and emotional resonance. I found it deeply moving.
37:28 Plus, culture notes about Julia Fox and Kanye West at Carbone: a celebrity date to remember.
In the pages of Interview Magazine, that is.
Bonus links
Open for a surprise:
Welcome back Euphoria:
Starstruck season 2 sighting:
That’s it for now! We are OFF next week because I have weird teeth that need to be removed :) See you the week after that!
— Jenny
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Some credits:
Music: REEKAH
Artwork and design: Sara Macias and Andrew Liu