Written and directed by the brilliant Maggie Gyllenhaal, based on the novella by Elena Ferrante, The Lost Daughter engendered a strong, dare we say, obsessive, reaction in us! Even after discussing it for hours, this complicated and complex portrayal of motherhood stays with us.** The Damn Doll. Where do we even start with this damn doll? It confounds Kate and causes Carinn to hate Leda for stealing it. (03:49)** Complicated Woman: Leda. We take on the impossible task of trying to imagine Leda without the damn doll. She’s ambitious, intelligent, tough, abrasive, isolated, and sometimes funny. She calls herself a selfish person and an unnatural mother. One thing is for sure, Leda has complicated our brain in the best possible way. Very few of our complicated women have engendered such strong feelings in us. (13:56)** Scenes. There are too many amazing scenes to discuss, but we gush over some of our favorites…Callie vs. Leda on the beach sparring with a piece of birthday cake (32:23); Leda’s dinner with Will and their discussion of what parents pass onto their children and flashbacks to young Leda feeling suffocated (35:00); the scenes with the hitchhiker and Leda being told not to say you don’t like to talking to your children on the phone and what that says about the judgments society places on mothers (43:10); when Leda confesses to Nina that she left her kids and it felt “amazing” (48:30); Nina and Leda having a moment that ends with a hatpin to the abdomen (57:30); the ending is open to interpretation and we have many! (61:52)** What’s Your Damage, Leda? There is no shortage of damage to discuss with Leda, from mommy issues to the way the repercussions of her choices as a mother haunt her to the present day. "Despite my breaking away, I haven't gone very far."** What She Said: Maggie Gyllenhaal & Elena Ferrante. We share our favorite first person quotes about the creation of this movie and its adaptation from Ferrante’s novella.** Takeaways. Our takeaways have Carinn playing shrink and asking why the dialogue is always about damage to children vs damage to mothers/women themselves. Kate puts herself on the couch and wonders whether she is an “unnatural mother”.  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.