SOMEONE’S DAUGHTER Review – Fantasia International Film Festival 2026

Revenge is hell and hell is other people in Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s “Someone’s Daughter”, a listless thriller that sells more on landscape than it does in its plotting.

Synopsis

Criminal defense lawyer Sam, 50s, is kidnapped with Paul, her former client she defended against rape charges a decade ago. Stranded on a remote Canadian island, they struggle to survive as Paul’s behavior grows toxic.

Review
Kicking off my coverage at the festival, I viewed a film with an intriguing revenge hook worthy of a Fantasia film selection. Wiebke von Carolsfeld’s Canadian thriller “Someone’s Daughter” confronts the question of where one goes when the law fails you and there is no other way to reach justice. The film begins with a man named Borden (Peter Outerbridge) who kidnaps defense lawyer Sam (Pascale Bussières) and leaves her stranded in the Canadian wilderness with Paul (François Arnaud), a man she defended years earlier against a sexual assault charge that was filed by Borden’s daughter. Now stuck in a dangerous situation where they are stranded, Sam and Paul have to work together to find mainland. On top of the survival plot, there’s also a lingering doubt in Sam’s mind as to whether she defended an innocent client years ago or if she is indeed stuck in the wilderness with a dangerous man. As stated before, the hook of the film delivers an intriguing promise…but the hook is unfortunately the only thrilling thing about this film.

The title of this film is borne from a compelling piece of dialogue. When Paul makes Sam take off all her makeup after dropping her in the wilderness, he states he “wanted to know what you looked like under all that crap”. She asks “what do I look like?” to which he responds “Someone’s daughter”. This exchange of dialogue displays the promise of compelling depth the film struggles to achieve in later scenes. The film’s plot has a problem of spinning its wheels a LOT during its short runtime, almost to the point where 96 minutes feels like 120. If we’re gonna be stuck with a plotless film, we better be spending this time with an interesting pair of characters and the film at least delivers on this front. Bussières’ performance of Sam is one where cards are held close to the chest. As she examines Paul and his strange excitement to be stuck in this predicament with her, she questions if the man is indeed the monster Borden’s daughter claimed him to be. It’s a commanding performance as much as it is an internal one. In contrast, Arnaud delivers a cautious performance that ranges from dangerous to slightly pathetic. As the two delve deeper into the woods, there is an interesting relationship between the two that festers as Sam questions Paul and Paul is resistant to some of Sam’s inquisitive methods.

Solid characterization aside, the thrills in this film are almost nil. While there is tension within von Carolsfeld and Doug Taylor’s script, there is not nearly enough to keep the story engaging. The film gains great momentum in its tense opening but after an unexpected twist, the film loses a lot of steam as these two navigate this intimidating landscape. Léna Mill-Reuillard’s beautiful cinematography of the encroaching wilderness is beautiful and a bit hypnotic. The film has no problem in the department of tone but tension is needed in a “did he?/didn’t he?” story like this and it is strongly missing in some parts. Even when a revelation is revealed in the film’s tense climax, the tension gets back to a solid high point then slowly dissipates…and by then it’s too late as the film has ended.

Closing Thoughts
This may have not been a great high point for my coverage at Fantasia International Film Festival but it was definitely a story that a had an awesome opening hook. “Someone’s Daughter” could have worked better as a tight, tense short film rather than a full-length picture. The acting is solid and the landscape is both intimidating and gorgeous but being stuck with two characters in a listless, boring thriller does not necessarily add up to a good time.

Trailer