Pamela Marcum

I'm still confused by this film (didn't read the book) to the point I Googled it for insight. Truthfully speaking, I'm not a fan of interpretive endings. Closure is needed and be forewarned, you're not going to get it watching the Lost Daughter. There are unnecessary references throughout the movie which has no bearing: the pregnant aunt of Nila; the mafia inference of the vacationing group; the bug on the pillow; the worm in the doll; the rotting fruit; Leda speaking Italian to Lyle; Leda stealing the doll. The list goes on. And what is with the ending? Did she crash? How was she navigating the curvy road with her head back and eyes closed in a stupor? Was she dead? How did the orange and cell phone suddenly appear? She'd been on the shore all night; why did the lap of the wave suddenly awaken her in the a.m.? Why all the animosity with the vacationing group when there is no point? Beautiful setting and fantastic acting, but the plot has more holes than Swiss cheese.

Warning: some spoilers. The plot intrigued me; woman convicted of murder, released and trying to reconnect with her, then, 5 year old sister. We discover that she was convicted of murdering a law enforcement officer during a home evacuation . While Bullock's facial expressions are limited and meant to convey prison hardness, she is supposed to come across as sympathetic. The lack of details with the writing ruins this movie for me. Mainly, the crime which resulted in her being incarcerated . Bullock was protecting her 5 year old sister, who picked up the shotgun and fired. That could be a little of a stretch for a small wispy child to shoulder a shotgun, have the arm reach to balance the rifle and pull the trigger. Then, when Bullock decides she'll take the fall, it isn't at the farmhouse where the shooting took place, it is at an ihop restaurant. Apparently no questioning or investigation or arrest was made at the crime scene. No gun residue. Nothing. She takes her sister to a pancake house, stuffs her with the strawberry banana special, abandons her there, and lays face down in the parking lot where she is apprehended. Huh? This was absolutely ludicrous. The sons of the officer are whack-a-doodle with the one son, making a complete 180 from 'leave her alone' to 'let's kill her sister in front of her.' Good premise but failed.