The Eternal Daughter

Joanna Hogg's enthralling ghost story, featuring an astonishing performance by her regular collaborator Tilda Swinton.

Shot in secret during lockdown, the details of this project were kept under wraps. To share too much would spoil some of the pleasure in decoding its riddles. Suffice to say The Eternal Daughter centres on a middle-aged filmmaker (Swinton) and her mother who spend a few nights in an old country hotel, a location that holds meaning for them both. It’s an intricately layered piece about motherhood, memory and loss, dressed up as a gothic chiller.

Swirling mist, looming shadows, a ghostly presence half-glanced in a window… embracing some of the heightened stylistic flourishes seen in The Souvenir Part II, The Eternal Daughter takes Hogg into exciting new territory, while retaining her distinctive naturalistic signature. The film exists entirely as its own deeply enthralling and moving drama, but fans of the filmmaker’s recent work will also find it a puzzle-box of meta-textual delights.