Tag Archives: Maggie Gyllenhaal

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Best of Zurich FIlm Festival – Spencer

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In theory this shouldn’t work. We have all watched The Crown and dozens of documentaries about the queen of hearts, Diana. We think that we have seen it all. But boy – we were so wrong.

Spencer centers around a few days over Christmas and Diana’s struggles to fit in and find her footing within the strange world of the royals. Kristen Stewart is just flawless as Diana and deserves every accolade she will be up for.

What makes this movie so special is the fact that Diana could be anyone. She could be you or me or our best friend. This is an emotional roller coster and goes so deep into the psyche of a young woman with all the ups and downs and crazy but lovable and at the same time sad and scary parts of our soul.

Directed by Pablo Larrain we can also admire Sally Hawkins, Jack Farthing and the always marvelous Timothy Spall. Just believe me; even if you couldn’t care less about Diana and the Royals. You have to watch this movie that premiere at the Zurich Film Festival.

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Best of Zurich Film Festival – The Lost Daughter

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A college professor confronts her unsettling past after meeting a woman and her young daughter while on vacation in Greece. Her obsession with the woman and her daughter prompts memories of her early motherhood. This is of course the synopsis of The Lost Daughter, the stunning book by Elena Ferrante.

In this movie there isn’t only the amazing screen play by Ferrante but the directional skill of Maggie Gyllenhaal and the sublime acting of Olivia Coleman. It doesn’t get much better than that.

But that’s not enough. The supporting cast of Dakota Johnson, Paul Metal Jessie Buckley, Ed Harris, Peter Sarsgaard, Alba Rohrwacher and Jack Farthing are adding the spices to this tasty dish.

Coleman steals the show, of course. This morbid and taxing movie is rising above the standard movie fare thanks to her. It’s a joy to watch Coleman in anything she’s in – but this one is especially beautiful; if a bit sad.