WARNING: The following contains spoilers for The Lost Daughter, now streaming on Netflix.
In Netflix's The Lost Daughter, Olivia Colman's Leda Caruso tried to heal on a vacation in Greece, hoping some sun and sand at the beach would cure her past trauma. However, as the film progressed, Leda ran into some Americans and Europeans who had her thinking twice about whether or not she'd be able to truly relax. Unfortunately, as the film made every character a threat, it also positioned one key hero as a villain of sorts, too.
In the first act, Leda encountered Nina and her shady family, who were also holidaying. However, after not cooperating with them during a birthday party, Leda ended up in their bad books. They thought she was arrogant while she felt them boisterous, obnoxious and privileged. This led to the family members sizing her up every time they saw her, mentally threatening and trying to intimidate her.
In one scene, when a pine cone seemingly fell and bruised Leda, it may well have been someone flinging one at her, which hinted that she was marked in a game of revenge. Even after Leda helped find Nina's daughter, Elena, who went missing briefly on the beach, Nina was found talking to Leda closely, with a strange, untrusting and intimidating demeanor. When Callie, Nina's aunt, did the same, Leda could tell they were skeptical -- ergo why she reciprocated. This was eventually justified when she bonded with Nina and found out Nina's marriage was falling apart, with confirmation that there was resentment in a family that loved putting on a front.
Nina's husband, Toni, and all the teens ramped up their dangerous attitudes after, with the movie developing an unsettling atmosphere that left fans expecting any one of them to be waiting around a corner, or even standing over Leda if she woke up in her apartment. She left her doors and windows open at times, after all, so it felt like they were just looking for an excuse.
The tension grew with other males Leda met along the way as well, such as the student who worked at the resort, Will. The Irishman initially seemed like a sweetheart; however, he was in an affair with Nina, wanting to use Leda's apartment for sex, which made it seem like either one of them could turn on Leda. Or worse yet, maybe Toni might accost Leda to find the truth out. They all became very suspicious in the wake of it, almost like they were creepily surveilling Leda by trying to get closer to her with the intentions to use her in some sick, twisted endgame.
Even Ed Harris' Lyle, Leda's driver, had a dark air to him as she initially felt like he was a toxic male trying to intrude on her dinner and sleep with her. When he saw how she stole Elena's doll too, it felt like he would manipulate Leda, which jogged her memory to men of power in her past. Her husband was neglectful, focusing on his work while not helping Leda with two girls she had at a young age, but this then revealed the final heartbreaking tyrant in the film: Leda herself.
This became clear with flashbacks showing that Leda cheated on her husband and then left the family for three years to have an affair with her shady professor. It informed why she stole the doll, as part of her loved the excitement, while the other reminded her of when she was happier and more inspired before having kids. It felt a bit devil-may-care, like someone who had nothing to lose, but Leda adopted this mentality as she felt most of her life was short-changed by starting a family too early. She ended up playing the sadistic game herself to recoup the fun she lost back in the day, but ultimately, it was warped. That's why Nina assaulted her in the end, realizing Leda was a tragic monster and hypocrite like the rest of them.
See how all these characters have no moral compass in The Lost Daughter, now streaming on Netflix.