The Daughter is an Australian movie set in a small town where a local timber mill run by Henry Neilson (Geoffrey Rush) is the main source of employment and the life blood of the area so when the announcement is made that the mill is to close the whole town seems doomed. One member of the town effected is Oliver Finch (Ewen Leslie) who seems to have a reasonably happy life with his wife Charlotte (Miranda Otto), daughter Hedwig (Odessa Young) and father Walter (Sam Neill). Walter used to be a good friend of Henrys but they have fallen out over the years as life took them in different directions. Thrown into the mix is the marriage of Henry to his younger housekeeper Anna (Anna Torv) which brings his son Christian (Paul Schneider) back from the USA and in the same way that Henry and Walter are former friends so were Christian and Oliver but Christian is a troubled man who is struggling to keep his relationship together thanks to his ongoing struggle with alcoholism and when his partner decides not to join him in Australia he battles with his desire for heavy drinking sessions returns.

The pivotal point is initially Henry but slowly drifts towards Hedwig as we begin to learn more about the history of the small town. Cristian is struggling to keep to himself together as he deals with the combined breakdown of his relationship coupled with the memories of his mothers suicide which are re-awakened by his return, his unwillingness to accept his fathers new marriage and also the re-ignition of his friendship with Oliver. he then discovers a long hidden secret which will tear their worlds apart if revealed.

With some clever camerawork, particularly the over the shoulder shots which give added realism to the situation and some very clever use of symbolism through the form of a duck which is shot by Henry at the beginning of the movie, while this may sound like a strange statement the movie is an adaptation of a book called The Wild Duck.

It is a slow moving but intriguing film with good acting all around but made all the better by the performance of Young who conveys a superb acting range as the tale drags her in many different directions of emotional turmoil and it’s dark subject matter makes a nice change from the politically correct material that normally appears on our screen, but it’s a very enjoyable experience if you’re looking for something a little less mainstream

DJ Speaks Rating: 7 Out Of 10