Dakota Johnson is instantly recognisable on screen. With her knowing smile and perfect fringe, the 32-year-old has enthralled Jamie Dornan’s Christian Grey in the Fifty Shades franchise, charmed critics in A Bigger Splash, proved to be a magnetic everywoman in How To Be Single, and won hearts in The Peanut Butter Falcon. But, in The Lost Daughter – Maggie Gyllenhaal’s ravishing feature directorial debut, adapted from Elena Ferrante’s novel of the same name – it may take you a moment to identify Johnson when she first saunters into view.
The actor plays Nina, a young mother with long, jet-black hair, kohl-lined eyes, copious tattoos and a wardrobe of denim cut-offs, skimpy swimwear and chunky gold hoops. She’s holidaying in Greece with her daughter, Elena (Athena Martin), and the rest of her loud, dubiously wealthy family from Queens. As they run riot, she is watchful and seemingly uneasy. Watching her in turn is Leda (Olivia Colman), a languages professor on a solitary trip. Also in their orbit are two well-meaning men: the grizzled caretaker of the house Leda is renting (Ed Harris), and a student (Paul Mescal), who spends his summers working on the beach. Their lives are disrupted when Elena suddenly disappears, leaving Nina distraught and Leda reminiscing about her own tumultuous past with her two daughters. The final product is a sensitive study of disappointment, ambition and maternal ambivalence, and it’s impossible to take your eyes off both the impulsive Colman and the enigmatic Johnson.
As we look ahead to the film’s release in theatres and on Netflix, Johnson discusses shooting on the picturesque island of Spetses during the pandemic, sending Gyllenhaal pictures of Megan Fox as references, and bribing the young actor who played her daughter.
The Lost Daughter is such a beautiful adaptation. Was it the script that attracted you?
“It was an insanely beautiful script to read and then Maggie [Gyllenhaal] and I had a meeting. It was really honest and soulful. We talked a couple more times and then, she gave me the part. It was during the pandemic, so Maggie and I spent a lot of time on Zoom, talking and sending each other music, photographs and film recommendations. Maggie has such an incredible way of working with actors because she is one. She made us feel so safe. I felt like I could go to extremes in any direction and I’d be taken care of. So much of this was just about wanting to be around her [laughs].”
What were those films, songs and photographs?
“It was when we were talking about costume, hair and what Nina’s look would be like. We were really into Rosalía at one point. Then, I was sending Maggie really early pictures of Megan Fox. She had this sexuality that she seemed really bored with and I liked that. It’s almost like what Nina is wearing is her uniform, but she’s outgrown it. It’s a wild uniform and it’s this picture of her that maybe she painted for herself and now she’s stuck in it, or maybe it’s been painted for her because of what she looks like. It’s about her wanting to break free of the shackles of that identity. There is far more to her than what she’s allowed to be in that family and in that place.”
What was it like to arrive in Greece while the world was still in lockdown and quarantine with this incredible cast?
“I’m privileged to do this as my job, but then to film a movie in Greece during a pandemic when people were locked in their apartments and dreaming of a beach? It was truly a gift and that was not lost on any of us. It’s a really small island and everyone was kind of involved in the movie. The girls who worked at the local coffee shop were some of the extras. We were all together all the time in a bubble and we all became really close.”
The young actor, Athena, who played your daughter is wonderful. How did you bond?
“She was four or five when we were shooting. It’s confusing at that age so we made it all a game. I wanted her to feel safe and connected, so my go-to was bribery. I was like, ‘I’m going to get this kid bags of candy.’ She took it but she wasn’t impressed [laughs].”
What was it like working with Olivia Colman? Nina and Leda spend so much time just watching each other.
“We had so much fun. We’re quite good friends now and I love her deeply. Maggie gave us space to play. We didn’t really have any deep conversations about the relationship between Nina and Leda, and we still haven’t. There are so many layers to that relationship. You wonder where it’s going just as they wonder where it’s going. But, when we weren’t shooting, Olivia and I weren’t talking about that. We were drinking wine [laughs].”
And what about Paul Mescal? Were you a fan of his work on Normal People?
“Oh my god, yes. A super fan! On the first day of filming, Paul and I had an intense scene. We hadn’t met each other, he was slightly nervous and I was empathetic. To make everybody comfortable, I told him all of my deepest, darkest secrets [laughs]. Now, we’re very close. He’s a heavenly being. It was his first film. I’m so proud of him.”
And beyond working with these amazing actors, what was the appeal of playing Nina, this mysterious woman who wants to be more than just the hot girl on the beach?
“It’s not so much that she wants to be something more, but she is something more. But, maybe she’s grown up in a family or a society where she’s not allowed to be something more or isn’t seen for who she is. That is really interesting to me. There are so many different people in us. Nina is drowning in herself and when she meets Leda, she thinks, ‘Is there something more for me? Could my mind be less hungry? Could I be satiated?’ The most heartbreaking thing is that she probably won’t ever be and that’s true of so many women.”
Do you also hope the film makes people question their preconceptions about motherhood?
“I’m really interested in this world where women are not allowed to feel their feelings, whether they’re scared or uncomfortable. I’m not a mother yet but what’s interesting to me is that this film gives women who are mothers permission to feel all of the complicated feelings that come with that. And it allows women who are not yet mothers or women who don’t want to be mothers to feel how they feel. There’s still this stigma around some women not wanting to be mothers and I just think, why? Maybe this is a little shove towards de-stigmatising those complicated feelings around womanhood and motherhood.”
Will we see you on screen next in Persuasion?
“Persuasion was so fun. Doing a Jane Austen film is the dream, and there are only a few of them so I feel incredibly lucky. The cast is amazing and our director, Carrie Cracknell, is fantastic. I think they’re still in the edit, but I’m so curious to see how it turns out.”
And, apart from that, how’re you feeling about the state of the world right now?
“It’s profoundly heartbreaking and there’s no way around it. I believe in people, in kindness and our ability to evolve, and I understand that sometimes things have to get worse before they get better, but it’s tough. It’s a harrowing time for most of the world. As an individual, you feel so hopeless but we can all help each other. I really hope things get better soon.”
The Lost Daughter will be in cinemas from 17 December and on Netflix from 31 December.