I’ve seen a lot of films in my day about father-daughter relationships. The Marsh King is the latest in the genre of movies. It was intriguing to me because of the two stars at the front of it. Ben Mendelssohn and Daisy Ridley are both Star Wars alumni.  So they are an interesting duo to lead this movie.Based on the book from Karen Dionna,  it wasn’t as good as I had hoped beforehand.

Helena (Brooklyn Prince, Daisy Ridley) is a young girl who lives in the woods in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. She is learning how to hunt and use wilderness as part of her survival. Food and shelter and such. Her father, Jacob Holbrook, otherwise known as “The Marsh King,” rewards her with tattoos. He is a strict man with principles, but he loves his daughter more than anything. He has a secret he is withholding from this little girl, though.

The first act is mainly of this little girl getting life lessons from her father and learning to live off the land. The second and third acts are about this little girl who is all grown up. She has a little girl of her own with Garrett Hedlund’s character. He seems to be a good father and provider. When Ripley’s character’s father escapes from prison, all clues lead to him coming back for his daughter and granddaughter.  She has to choose what’s best for her family regarding everybody involved.

This film is set in the wilderness, so the filmmaker has some amazing shots of marshes, streams, and sunsets. The cinematography is breathtaking during the scenes set in the wilderness. These scenes show who these characters are, but they also show how one character has learned from the other. Ridley’s character has taken what she was taught by her father and used it against him in the end. This was what her story arc was meant to be all about. Along with the score the cinematography is the best part of the film.

 Ben Mendelssohn is an Emmy Award winner for his role in Bloodline. He has also been in Animal Kingdom and, as mentioned in Rogue One A Star Wars Story , plays Talos in the MCU. He has done it all regarding the types of roles he’s been in. I feel he may have been miscast in this role, though, of a survivalist raising his daughter in the woods. Even though he has a criminal past, I still can’t see him in this role. He has a bad hairpiece at the beginning of the film to make him look much younger. This role just wasn’t up his alley as far as I’m concerned about. 

As far as the Helena character being portrayed by two actresses,  this was pretty good casting. Ridley seemed to be typecast as Rey from the Star Wars Universe, but I felt she had good ability and deserved more roles in Hollywood. She was very believable in the role of a mother with a difficult decision to make about the father she didn’t know who he truly was. Brooklyn Prince has had a good career in her short career thus far. With the Florida Project being her big break and career-best performance, She is solid as this little girl learning from this man who is hiding a big secret from her. She has a big career ahead of her.

The Marsh King’s Daughter is a movie that had a lot of potential for me. Director Neil Burger and screenwriter Mark L Smith create a story and film with an interesting premise. This isn’t your normal everyday father daughter tale. The performances by Ridley and Prince were solid, but unfortunately for me, I felt like Mendelssohn was miscast in this role.  I had hoped this would be better than it was. It’s just an average movie with a lot of potential that wasn’t fulfilled.

2 ½ stars

Dan Skip Allen