Episode 100: Maggie Gyllenhaal on The Lost Daughter

Welcome to The Last Thing I Saw. I’m your host, Nicolas Rapold. It's the 100th episode! As a working critic and journalist, I always hope these podcasts add something new to the discussion. And for that I have to thank my guests, all the talented critics and filmmakers who have joined me, and of course my listeners for listening. Finally, a special thank-you to my substack subscribers. Your support makes the podcast possible. This episode, I talked with Maggie Gyllenhaal, who made her acclaimed directorial debut with The Lost Daughter, adapted from the Elena Ferrante novel. Olivia Colman stars as Leda, a literature professor on vacation in Greece who is haunted by the decisions she made as the mother of two daughters. Jessie Buckley plays Leda's younger self, and Dakota Johnson plays Nina, a woman from a big family on the beach who has a daughter of her own. I talked with Gyllenhaal about adapting the film’s mix of present and past, getting permission from Ferrante, and casting Olivia Colman and Dagmara Dominczyk (who plays Callie, a first-time mother in Nina’s family). Gyllenhaal also talks about the process of bringing the film into being from her initial vision. Last but not least... she tells me the last movie she saw, which is a great one.

Please support the production of this podcast by signing up at:

rapold.substack.com

Music: “Tomorrow’s Forecast” by The Minarets, courtesy of The Minarets

Photo by Steve Snodgrass