''Prisoner's Daughter'' is a 2022 American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Catherine Hardwicke Catherine Hardwicke is an American film director, production designer, and screenwriter. Her directorial work includes '' Thirteen'' (2003), which she co-wrote with Nikki Reed, the film's co-star, '' Lords of Dogtown'' (2005), '' The Nativity ...

, written by Mark Bacci, and starring

Kate Beckinsale Kathrin Romany Beckinsale (born 26 July 1973) is an English actress. The only child of actors Richard Beckinsale and Judy Loe, she debuted in the series premiere of the 1975 daytime drama ''Couples.'' In 1993, she made her theatrical film deb ...

and Brian Cox. The film premiered at the

2022 Toronto International Film Festival The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022. The 2022 festival was staged primarily in-person; a small selection of films were offered on the Digital TIFF Bell Lightbox platform, but this represente ...

, and was released in the United States on June 30, 2023, by

Vertical Entertainment Vertical (formerly Vertical Entertainment) is an American independent film distribution company founded by producers Rich Goldberg and Mitch Budin in 2012. Vertical releases films across all mediums, including theatrical, video on demand, physica ...

Plot

The film centers on an imprisoned man's attempts to reconnect with his daughter after being diagnosed with terminal

pancreatic cancer Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of ...

Cast

as Maxine MacLeary * Brian Cox as Max MacLeary *

Christopher Convery Christopher Convery (born January 15, 2008) is an American actor. He starred as Jude in '' Brahms: The Boy II''. He also starred in Sony’s '' The Girl in the Spider's Web'' (2018). He starred in the Netflix series '' On the Verge'' in the r ...

as Ezra MacLeary * Jon Huertas as Joseph *

Ernie Hudson Earnest Lee Hudson (born December 17, 1945) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Winston Zeddemore in the ''Ghostbusters'' franchise. Hudson has also acted in the films ''Leviathan'' (1989), '' The Hand That Rocks the Cradle'' (19 ...

as Hank *

Tyson Ritter Tyson Jay Ritter (born April 24, 1984) is an American musician and actor. He is the lead vocalist, bassist, pianist, and songwriter of the rock band The All-American Rejects. As an actor, Ritter appeared as himself on the seventeenth episode o ...

as Tyler

Production

The film was produced by Sam Okun, Marina Grasic, and David Haring. In August 2021, ''Deadline'' announced that

was joining the cast alongside Beckinsale and Cox.

Release

The film had its world premiere on September 14, 2022, at the

. In April 2023,

acquired distribution rights to the film, and set it for release on June 30, 2023.

Reception

Lovia Gyarkye of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' gave the film a mixed review, praising its cast and direction while criticizing its uneven screenplay, pivot from the drama to the action genre in the second act, and for not adequately fleshing out its characters. Wendy Ide of ''

Screen Daily ''Screen International'' is a British film magazine covering the international film business. It is published by Media Business Insight, a British B2B media company which also owned '' Broadcast''. The magazine is primarily aimed at those involv ...

'' wrote that "There are very few surprises in this formulaic domestic drama, but there are pleasures to be had in watching." Robert Daniels, in a review for '' RogerEbert.com'', gave the film a mostly negative review, writing that it "disappointingly undermines its own themes and characters at every turn." Marya E. Gates of ''The Playlist'' was critical of the film, stating that the performances of Cox and Beckinsale were some of the film's only highlights.

References

External links

* {{Catherine Hardwicke 2022 films 2022 drama films 2020s American films 2020s English-language films 2020s prison films American prison drama films Films about cancer in the United States Films about father–daughter relationships Films about dysfunctional families Films directed by Catherine Hardwicke Vertical (film company) films English-language crime films