382: The Marsh King's Daughter

[00:00:00] Every day, we rise.

[00:00:03] Challenging ourselves to work for what we believe in.

[00:00:07] At U.S. Border Patrol, protecting our borders is more than a job.

[00:00:11] It's a calling.

[00:00:13] Agents answer the call.

[00:00:16] Working together to keep our country and communities safe.

[00:00:19] If you're ready for a new mission, join U.S. Border Patrol and go beyond.

[00:00:25] Learn more at cbp.gov slash careers.

[00:00:30] Hey everybody, it's Henry with the Film Buds Podcast.

[00:00:33] Please make sure to rate, review, and subscribe to the show.

[00:00:36] And if you're listening to this on YouTube, please let us know your thoughts in the comments.

[00:00:40] Thanks.

[00:00:42] Ninety.

[00:00:44] Let's get to The Marsh King's Daughter, which is now on Hulu, currently.

[00:00:49] And it came out in, I think, mid to late 2023, I think.

[00:00:53] Could be wrong on that, but somewhere around there.

[00:00:56] It's a 2023 film at least.

[00:00:57] It's directed by Neil Berger.

[00:01:00] Stars Daisy Ridley of Star Wars fame, Ben Mendelsohn, Brooklyn Prince, Gil Birmingham, Garrett Hedlund, and a few others.

[00:01:09] And the synopsis is, a woman seeks revenge against the man who kidnapped her mother.

[00:01:15] So I had heard about this one for a while, kind of saw it pop up on certain lists and on Letterboxd and things.

[00:01:23] And I'm from the South, I'm from North Carolina.

[00:01:26] And just naturally, I guess, I really love Southern Gothic murder mystery sort of things.

[00:01:33] Like even True Detective, that True Detective sort of vibe, which this movie definitely has.

[00:01:37] I love swampy, marshland, backdoor sort of mystery stories and stuff.

[00:01:44] I just naturally cling to that location and setting and style.

[00:01:48] I'm a big fan of that.

[00:01:49] And I like Daisy Ridley a lot.

[00:01:52] I know some people kind of hate on her.

[00:01:54] I think she's pretty solid across the board.

[00:01:56] I really like her in Star Wars and some of the other things I've seen her in.

[00:01:59] Ben Mendelsohn, I think is one of the best character actors out there right now.

[00:02:03] Like he is fantastic.

[00:02:05] He can play anything really.

[00:02:07] I love seeing him pop up.

[00:02:09] And I didn't even know he was in this.

[00:02:11] I didn't know much about the story going in.

[00:02:13] I'd seen a few stills and I just knew it was about Daisy Ridley's character.

[00:02:17] So it went in fairly blank.

[00:02:19] And I think it's okay.

[00:02:21] I know some people were being sort of harsh on it.

[00:02:25] I'm not sure why exactly.

[00:02:27] I think in the end, it's kind of harmless.

[00:02:29] Like there's nothing really offensively wrong with it.

[00:02:33] I think the whole thing overall was entertaining.

[00:02:36] I was engaged.

[00:02:38] I thought Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn worked great together.

[00:02:40] I thought it was shot beautifully.

[00:02:42] I love the color palette, like the hazy greenish brown color palette, like gold look.

[00:02:47] Love that.

[00:02:49] The overall lighting and choice of locations were very spot on.

[00:02:53] And one of the better looking movies I've seen in a while, at least in terms of this sort of genre.

[00:02:58] The opening sequence, I won't spoil it too much, but I really like seeing her as a kid

[00:03:04] and that reveal of the family and Ben Mendelsohn teaching Daisy Ridley to like hunt and all these things.

[00:03:13] And then there's a big blow up moment and her trying to move on from all of that

[00:03:16] and him coming back into her life.

[00:03:18] I think all that worked well.

[00:03:20] I don't think that there's anything amazing in this movie.

[00:03:23] Like there's nothing, I'm like you have to see the scene or this performance, whatever.

[00:03:27] Like there's nothing like that.

[00:03:29] It just does everything fairly competently.

[00:03:31] Not one I would ever feel the need to rewatch like immediately,

[00:03:34] but I think you could do a whole heck of a lot worse when it comes to indie crime thrillers.

[00:03:40] The score is excellent as well.

[00:03:42] Love the score.

[00:03:43] I think the final act is very solid with Daisy Ridley and Ben Mendelsohn.

[00:03:48] And I think it really does make good use of the Marshland title.

[00:03:53] I really like that.

[00:03:55] And the overall concept I think does work in terms of an abuser or anyone in that sort of vein

[00:04:03] and coming back into someone's life and that person who has been victimized and abused

[00:04:09] having to suddenly change their life, maybe reveal some secrets to their new family or friends, whoever.

[00:04:16] And I guess in some ways almost like with her, like a Stockholm syndrome sort of thing

[00:04:22] and all those questions that come with that.

[00:04:26] So I think it did work.

[00:04:28] I wish it could have been even better.

[00:04:30] So I'm like, alright, this is such an underrated movie.

[00:04:33] Like you have to see this.

[00:04:34] It's not quite there, but I was with it to the end.

[00:04:40] And so I think if you're on the lookout for a good indie movie, a good crime movie,

[00:04:46] just a cool character piece, something unconventional, a little refreshing in terms of how simple it is.

[00:04:53] It's not super flashy, nothing like that.

[00:04:55] I think you should check it out.

[00:04:57] It is easily accessible if you have Hulu by chance or the Disney Hulu package.

[00:05:01] Check it out.

[00:05:02] I'm excited to see what else Daisy really does with the rest of her career,

[00:05:06] because I think she has good range and I like her as a lead actor.

[00:05:09] So yeah, that one is a heavy three out of five.

[00:05:33] CBP agents and officers are keeping people safe.

[00:05:36] Join U.S. Customs and Border Protection and go beyond for something far greater than yourself.

[00:05:42] Learn more at CBP.gov slash careers.