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Stephanie Daley is a well-made and well-acted film, but it is also a tough one. Amber Tamblyn plays the title character, a high school girl accused of murdering her baby after birth. Stephanie, however, wishing to avoid jail time, claims the baby was stillborn. As the trial looms, Lydie (Tilda Swinton), a forensic psychologist, is hired by the prosecutor to evaluate Stephanie. The two women’s stories are drawn on parallel lines, as Lydie is pregnant and also experienced a stillbirth during a previous pregnancy. Tamblyn, who you may remember from the television series Joan of Arcadia, showssome real acting chops and holds her own in scenes with Swinton. Stephanie’s story develops organically, through flashbacks that are precipitated by Lydie’s questions in their meetings. The film’s success is aided by its grounding in realism and its naturalistic dialogue. It’s an ideal mode for a movie in which every character seems to be hiding something and suppressing the past.
