The trailer for Paul Mescal’s new movie with Olivia Colman is here and it looks creepy good

With pandemic restrictions easing, or in Ireland’s case, rolling on, the dearth of new movies to see is finally starting to ease. This month has already seen the release of the new Bond film, Dune, Marvel’s Eternals, along with The French Dispatch and Spencer following up in the coming ten days. 

But Irish cinema-goers will be particularly excited by an upcoming psychological drama starring Normal People’s Paul Mescal and the Queen… sorry I mean Oscar winner Olivia Colman.

The Lost Daughter also stars Dakota Johnson and is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s first time in the director’s seat. Based on a novel by the same name by Elena Ferrante, it is set in a holiday village where an college professor named Leda (Colman) becomes obsessed with a young woman (Johnson) and her daughter who are also staying at the resort. The connection prompts Colman’s character to reflect on her own days as a young parent and wife and her unsettling struggle with motherhood.

The film actually includes two Irish stars. Jessie Buckley, who you might remember from Wild Rose, plays a younger Leda in the flashbacks while Paul Mescal plays a hotel worker Will who befriends Leda. Peter Saarsgard (who coincidentally is married to Gyleenhaal), Ed Harris, Dagmara Domi?czyk and Oliver Jackson-Cohen also star.

It’s already receiving rave reviews, awarded best screenplay for Maggie Gyllenhaal at its premiere in Venice early this year.

The Lost Daughter is due to be released in cinemas on December 17, 2021 and it looks as though Netflix has scooped up the UK and Irish rights to be, with it expected to land on the streaming site on New Year’s Eve.