Plot Summary

Fathers and Daughters centers on the life of Pulitzer Prize–winning writer Russell Crowe’s character, Jake Davis, whose world is shattered when his wife dies in a tragic car accident. Left alone to raise his five-year-old daughter Katie in New York, Jake struggles to balance the demands of single parenthood with his deteriorating mental health, marked by sudden emotional breakdowns and unresolved trauma.

As the years pass, the story unfolds across two timelines. While Jake battles his inner demons and fights to remain a stable presence in his daughter’s life, the film also follows Katie as an adult, portrayed by Amanda Seyfried. Twenty years later, she confronts the psychological scars left by her turbulent childhood, navigating intimacy, trust, and emotional vulnerability as she attempts to build a life of her own.

Through its intimate father–daughter bond, the film explores themes of grief, mental illness, parental love, and the long-lasting impact of childhood experiences. Fathers and Daughters presents a poignant meditation on loss and resilience, emphasizing how love endures even as time and trauma reshape human relationships.