LOS ANGELES — Based on the international bestselling novel by Karen Dionne, “The Marsh King’s Daughter” is the story of Helena Pelletier — played by Daisy Ridley (“Star Wars”) — who must confront her secret past to protect her husband and young daughter.

In the film, Helena is the daughter of a man who kidnapped her mother as a teen and discovers she is a product of the relationship between captive and tormentor. When her father is caught and sent to prison only to escape, Helena must use the lessons he taught her to hunt him down.

“The Marsh King’s Daughter” director, Neil Burger, told Spectrum News it is always a balancing act to adapt a novel into a movie because readers have their own idea of what a character looks like or how a scene unfolds.

“It’s always nerve-racking in a way. You don’t want to alienate the audience that should be your core audience, but sometimes you just need to do what the movie needs to be done to also serve the people who have not read the book,” he said.

In the story, the marshlands are set in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, but for the film, producers found the perfect location in a remote location of northern Ontario, Canada.

Burger said he had been wanting to make a film in which the wilderness and natural world played a main character.

“It exists with or without human beings. There is something powerful about that. It is humbling. I like that feeling and I wanted to bring some of that feeling to the movie. When she [Helena] is a girl, she is one with nature, she’s one with the universe, and in harmony,” he said.

“The Marsh King’s Daughter” is playing in theaters. It stars Daisy Ridley, Ben Mendelsohn, Garrett Hedlund, Caren Pistorius and Brooklynn Prince.

Click the arrow above to watch the full interview with Neil Burger.