The Daughter

This moody drama follows two families who are torn apart by a dark secret. The setting is a small logging town in New South Wales, where a wealthy mill owner named Henry (Geoffrey Rush) is about to marry a younger woman (Anna Torv). Henry's estranged son Christian (Paul Schneider) has come home for the wedding, and in the days leading up to the ceremony, he reconnects with his childhood friend Oliver (Ewen Leslie). From here, the story unfolds gradually, building to a devastating revelation that involves Oliver's beloved wife (Miranda Otto) and his teenage daughter (Odessa Young). On paper, this might sound like a recipe for soapy melodrama, but The Daughter is a naturalistic film, and it contains some impressive performances. The ending may be too abrupt for some viewers, but the story is moderately involving throughout, detailing how some secrets can have tragic consequences when they are revealed.