Tuesday, November 07, 2023
The Marsh King
It seems another “Where the Crawdads Sings” at the beginning of this this psychological thriller but it’s not quite. Living off the grid in the marshlands of Northern Michigan, a survivalist, Jacob Holbrook aka Marsh King (Ben Mendelsohn) teaches his 10-year-old daughter, Helena, how to track, hunt, & survive in the wilderness. Helena is devoted to her dad & idolizes him. One day, Helena’s mom, Beth, seizes an opportunity to escape the isolated cabin with her confused daughter. Jacob tracks them down but is caught & arrested as Helena learns that her beloved father figure is not exactly who he appeared to be. Jump ahead 20 years & now adult Helena (Daisy Ridley) is married with a daughter of her own & has distanced herself her former world as well as buried her past. Helena’s now idyllic world is shattered when the FBI shows up at her home because Jacob has escaped from prison. She never told her husband nor anyone about her past. She becomes paranoid & is constantly looking over her shoulders. Jacob had taught her to always protect your family so the prey turns predator in order to save her little girl. It’s a fairly predictable storyline but Mendelsohn & Ridley give outstanding performances.
Alien gives it 2½ “tatoo markings” stars out of 4.
