Joanna Hogg’s and Tilda Swinton’s creative partnership goes back nearly fifty years. The two became friends when they were only ten years old, and this school friendship eventually led to Hogg casting Swinton as the lead in her (1986) NFTS graduation film, “Caprice,” about a woman stuck in a fashion magazine. More recently, Swinton and her daughter, Honor Swinton Byrne, took on lead roles in Hogg’s critically acclaimed film “The Souvenir” in 2019 and its sequel “The Souvenir: Part II” in 2021. And the Swinton-Hogg dynamo is still whirring away, with the duo set to showcase their latest collaboration—a mother-daughter ghost story entitled “The Eternal Daughter.”
Written by Hogg, “The Eternal Daughter” is a manor house mystery involving a middle-aged daughter and her elderly mother. When the two return to the old family home, they must confront the uncomfortable secrets they have striven to hide.
This low-key, small-cast picture (the only other listed stars are Carly-Sophia Davies, Joseph Mydell, and Alfie Sankey-Green) was filmed in Wales in 2020, and shooting wrapped just before the U.K. entered its third national lockdown.
“The Eternal Daughter” debuted early this year at the 79th Venice Film Festival to major raves, including our own (read our review), writing, “when the film’s time-and-logic bending final reveal arrives, [it’s like] a gut punch, with a restrained parting note both ethereal and lifelike.” The film also played in Toronto, the New York Film Festival, and BFI London Film Festival.
Here’s the official synopsis:
An artist and her elderly mother confront long-buried secrets when they return to a former family home, now a hotel haunted by its mysterious past. Featuring a towering, deeply moving performance by Tilda Swinton, acclaimed filmmaker Joanna Hogg’s beguiling latest film is a brilliant and captivating exploration of parental relationships and the things we leave behind.
“The Eternal Daughter” opens in theaters on December 2, 2022, via A24. Watch the new trailer below: