You are here:

The Daughter

Name: The Daughter
Director: Simon Stone
Released: 2015
Duration: 96 min

Representation Score

6.0/10

Good

2015

Director

Simon Stone

Runtime

96 minutes

Average Rating

No ratings yet

New Showbiz Analysis

This film is a psychologically rich drama that prioritizes thematic exploration over broad demographic representation. While it lacks racial, LGBTQ+, and disability representation, it excels in challenging traditional social structures. Its strength lies in its progressive examination of Western institutions, especially the nuclear family. By examining motherhood and parenting through a lens of moral relativism, the film goes beyond simple domestic clichés to explore complex autonomy. However, the setting remains culturally narrow, focusing on a single, homogeneous rural demographic. This limits the film's reach in terms of representing multiple aspects of diversity despite its intellectual depth.

Watch this, not that →

Category Breakdown

Does The Daughter have LGBTQ+ representation?

Minimal

The film focuses on a family structure that assumes everyone is straight or cisgender, set in a rural area. It does not feature any LGBTQ+ characters or stories that question these assumptions.

How does The Daughter portray gender?

Good

The story highlights women's ability to drive the plot by exploring the psychological struggles of being a mother. It avoids clichéd portrayals of nurturing to show womanhood as a place of strong, independent choices.

How racially and ethnically diverse is The Daughter?

Limited

The film is set in a predominantly white, rural community with a specific socioeconomic background. It does not include characters from different racial or ethnic backgrounds.

How does The Daughter represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The story challenges the idea of the perfect, traditional family by using moral relativism to question conventional parenting models. It deconstructs the notion of a stable, idealized family unit.

Does The Daughter include disability representation?

Minimal

The film does not prominently depict characters with physical, neurodivergent, or sensory disabilities. Characters are defined by their psychological states and family roles rather than their experiences with disabilities.

Present on Screen

Sophisticated exploration of women's independence and the psychological complexities of motherhood.
Effective deconstruction of traditional Western parenting models and the nuclear family structure.
Nuanced portrayal of womanhood that goes beyond common domestic stereotypes.

Limited or Absent

Lack of LGBTQ+ perspectives or characters to question the assumption that everyone is straight or cisgender.
Minimal racial and ethnic diversity within the rural, homogeneous setting.
Absence of representation regarding physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

In the last days of a dying logging town, Christian returns to his family home for his father Henry’s wedding. While home, Christian reconnects with his childhood friend Oliver, who has stayed in town working at Henry’s timber mill and is now out of a job. As Christian gets to know Oliver’s wife Charlotte, daughter Hedvig, and father Walter, he discovers a secret that could tear Oliver’s family apart.

How are these scores produced? →