The Eternal Daughter

Director: Joanna Hogg
Starring: Tilda Swinton, Joseph Mydell, Carly-Sophia Davies, Crispin Buxton
Country: UK
Running Time: 96 minutes
Year: 2022
BBFC Certificate: 12

I can’t help but be disappointed. Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir Part II was extraordinary. A filmmaker at the height of her powers and it stretched cinematic notions of time and memory in ways that had hitherto seemed exclusive to the late Terence Davies. What a toolset to bring to a ghost story, framed in an exquisite relationship between a mother and daughter. The Eternal Daughter was an irresistible prospect. And it is a beautiful film, but ultimately drags on and fails to engage. It’s a ghost story for people who don’t like ghost stories.

It starts well. The mood is immediately intoxicating and tropes are reassuring touchstones for fans of the genre; a reluctant carriage (taxi) driver, the creaky house, ominous angles, mist. Everything is worn and aged, even the yellowed paperback Tilda Swinton reads, or her old camera. The gothic opening recalls British Hammer classics, the score too is sympathetic to the era. The old rambling house-cum-hotel truly feels uncomfortably empty, a quality of the production that shouldn’t be taken for granted. The loneliness is as effective as anything since The Shining. Meanwhile, a buttoned-up Tilda Swinton is reliably brilliant, supported by an understated script that delights in the mundane details that can only come from a long and complex relationship, in this case, between a mother and daughter. Their history is gently peeled back, adding a welcome dimension to the idea of a ghost story.

The fact that you might see through the plot immediately doesn’t matter (though for a moment I thought it was going to have more ambition). The Eternal Daughter treads paths that are so well-worn they’re smoothly tarmacked. That’s just solid ground to spring from, but the film never does spring.

Still, that first act had such promise I thought the film would fill a gap in style between Guillermo Del Toro’s sumptuous gothic work and Mike Flanagan’s Netflix epics. The Haunting or The Fall of The House of Usher are fabulous, but vacuous and unremittingly glossy. If you think I’m being unfair to Flanagan, I wish I could recommend The Eternal Daughter so you might see what a treat a proper ghost story can be. Hogg’s resolute rejection of artifice is a breath of fresh air.

So why can’t I recommend it? It’s overlong for a start. The BBC had a wonderful tradition of ghost stories and if this were a 40-minute TV play, it would be remarkably effective. Instead though, it stretches on, with no surprises, including a trudging denouement we could all see coming a mile away.

I don’t wish to sound like a snob, but The Eternal Daughter has ridden so high in many critics’ end-of-year lists, such that I wonder if they ever dirty their hands watching the more typical audience-baiting end of the thriller genre. Luca Guadagnino’s Suspiria remake was similarly lauded, but was dreadful. Joanna Hogg’s effort is no such disaster, it’s just so dull. I understand the enthusiasm -no, thirst- for prestige, art-house scary movies, but they do have to be scary.

VIDEO/AUDIO

The production of The Eternal Daughter is beyond reproach. I might be underwhelmed by the story but the film itself is a wonderful image. A touch of grain adds a hint of life to the still, largely empty hotel, all dark, worn wood. Flashes of colour are lurid and the detail is incredible.

Audio too is brilliantly staged on this Blu-Ray release. It’s not an ambitious surround track, but the house is almost allowed to simply breathe. It would seem superfluous in a film like this to mention the oppressive silence that gives way to creaks and wind rattling the windows. But again, that’s why the film as a whole disappoints me overall, because Hogg effortlessly achieves a perfectly haunted house that ticks every required familiar cliché, and yet it feels fresh and real.

EXTRA FEATURES

In a strong release, the disc is stuffed with interviews, a commentary, a Q&A. Every aspect of the film is enthusiastically and respectfully explored. There’s even a booklet with writing on the film that makes for an excellent read. Spoiler: they all liked it more than I did and I enjoyed the discussions around the film, and the interviews with Joanna Hogg on her influences.

When you include the wonderful artwork created for the poster, The Eternal Daughter is more like a boutique limited edition. It’s an excellent package that should be explored by any cineaste wishing to support physical media.

Audio commentary by director Joanna Hogg and production designer Stéphane Collonge
Présages (2023, 11 mins): a short film by Joanna Hogg produced in 2023 for the Centre Pompidou’s ‘Où en êtes-vous?’ collection
Joanna Hogg in conversation (2023, 76 mins): the filmmaker discusses her career with Jason Wood
Q&A with Joanna Hogg and Tilda Swinton (2023, 35 mins): the writer-director and the star talk to Francine Stock about their latest collaboration
Original UK trailer