A statistic back in 2019, before the world knew of Coronavirus and the dark theater filled with people and the smell of popcorn was just a normal weekend, showed that women were 50% of moviegoers. This data does not represent the number of women working on the movies watched, and it still has a long way to go. With The Acadamy Awards 2022 ceremony approaching, and the Oscar buzz surrounding a few films, these conversations about gender in the industry are not only natural but necessary.
Netflix released its last film of 2021 on the last day of the year. Maggie Gyllenhaal’s director debut The Lost Daughter is an adaptation of a standalone book by the mysterious Italian best-seller Elena Ferrante. No one knows who Elena Ferrante is: she only gives interviews via email and has never shared a photo of herself. The Italian author has won the hearts of many worldwide, this being her second adaptation; the first was a series of her most famous series My Brilliant Friend adapted by HBO.
What Is The Movie The Lost Daughter About?
The Lost Daughter tells the story of Lena, played by Olivia Coleman, a university professor that goes to Greece during vacation. There, she meets a young mother, played by Dakota Johnson, and remembers her struggles with motherhood. It’s a beautifully shot movie in which Maggie took advantage of the intimate storyline to push her director’s choices. She uses a lot of close-ups, shining a beacon on Coleman’s unbelievable performance. It is a raw narrative about motherhood, which has been taboo for a long time.
“I’m an unnatural mother.” Leda, played by Olivia Coleman
This movie is not only great by itself but also shines a light on various subjects regarding women’s realities. A few years back, for mother’s day in Spain, a department store chain chose a logo that generated revolt: 97% devoted. 3% self-centered. 0 complaints. 100% mother. Society has always seen motherhood through rose-colored glasses, not allowing women to express negative feelings or experiences. Gyllenhaal’s movie comes to destroy this idea. Her main character becomes alive when we see how motherhood was for her.
The movie also starts a discussion that has been more prominent in the past years: why are there so few women directors? Only two women in the history of the Academy Awards have won an Oscar for the ‘Best Director’ category: Chloe Zhao (Nomadland) and Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker). Only seven women got nominated for this category.
Hollywood and Gender Disparity
Women and Hollywood website gathered data regarding gender disparity in the entertainment industry. In the 2019-2020 tv season: 94% of the programs considered had no women directors of photography, 76% had no women directors, 81% had no women editors, 73% had no women creators. The website also gathered data regarding the number of women working on the 100 top engrossing films of 2019.
- 10.7% of directors
- 19.4% of writers
- 24.3% of producers
- 70.4% of casting directors
The Lost Daughter shows how necessary a female gaze is in these narratives while discussing taboo subjects. A great Netflix movie that may be Olivia Coleman’s next Oscar win tells a deeply personal story in a very relatable way. This movie is just another example of why we need films by women directors telling these types of stories.
