The Eternal Daughter review: This ghost story’s eerie atmosphere will stay with you

In The Souvenir, and Souvenir II, Joanna Hogg compellingly fused autobiography and fiction with the help of Tilda Swinton. In this companion piece, the incomparable Swinton plays the twin roles of a mother and her daughter, guests at a country house that may be haunted.

The Eternal Daughter (12A, 96mins)

Middle-aged filmmaker Julie (Swinton) has brought her elderly mother Rosalind to a remote and eerily deserted hotel for the weekend. Her intentions are good because this vast place was once a private home owned by Rosalind’s aunt, and she spent many summers here.

Instead of wistful nostalgia, the old lady is troubled by traumatic memories. Meanwhile, Julie is having problems of her own. The hotel’s receptionist (Carly-Sophia Davies) appears to have taken against her and Julie hears noises at night and thinks she spots a ghostly lady.

Hogg channels the traditions of mid-20th century British ghost stories by PD James and others into an exploration of the essential unknowability of our parents. Swinton is superb in both roles and The Eternal Daughter’s eerie atmosphere will stay with you.

​The Eternal Daughter is now playing in selected cinemas and streaming on AppleTV+.

Rating: Five stars

Rustin (Netflix, 106mins)

Produced by Michelle and Barack Obama’s production company Higher Ground, Rustin shines an overdue light on a neglected hero of civil rights. Born in Pennsylvania in 1912, abandoned by his parents and raised by his grandmother, Bayard Rustin (Colman Domingo) was an activist while still at college, organised bus protests against segregation and became an advisor to Martin Luther King.

It was Rustin who persuaded King of the power of nonviolent protest, but the pair fell out when malicious rumours circulated about their relationship. Bayard was gay, openly so, and though Dr King’s interests lay elsewhere, he blamed Rustin for the scandal.

But in 1963, Rustin rebounded spectacularly to organise a 250,000-strong march on Washington to demand an end to institutionalised racism. George C. Wolfe’s film tells the story pretty straight: luckily for him, it’s a really good one. Aml Ameen is perfect as MLK and while Chris Rock is not entirely convincing as NAACP chairman Roy Wilkins, Domingo is superb as Rustin, a man who overcame racial and sexual prejudice to achieve great things. PW

​Rustin is streaming on Netflix now.

Rating: Three stars

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