Dakota Johnson shared what attracted her to her latest movie "The Lost Daughter" and how director Maggie Gyllenhaal helped her create challenging roles.

The actress sat down with Gyllenhaal at the deadline contender event to talk about some of the important cultural dialogues explored in the film, which has been winning awards and praised by critics.

Scroll down to see what Johnson and Gyllenhaal said.

Maggie Gyllenhaal, the screenwriter and director of the film, has proven that she is a serious director to watch. The film not only won praise from film critics, but also won the Gotham Award for Best Breakthrough Director, Best Screenplay, Best Feature Film and many other awards.

"Generally speaking, there is some internal drama to be honest," Maggie shared.

"So I do think this is what drives me. Also because they are the truth about things that have to do with me and my experience as a woman in the world."

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Johnson admitted that she was a little uneasy at first, but then realized that storytelling was honest and necessary.

"The initial feeling was,'Oh, I'm a little scared to play this young woman who is really difficult as a mother,' because that is usually a very unflattering person," she said.

"But it's normal and honest, and people I know get everything better than, you know, young mothers."

In another interview, Dakota said that the honest description of women in the film helped her accept her feelings about motherhood. She also admitted that she was not sure whether she wanted children.

Dakota told The Times: "This film allows people to be satisfied with the complex feelings of being a mother."

"For someone like me who is not yet a mother and may not want to be a mother, this is great. It's complicated, but it's okay.

Honest performance is exactly what Gyllenhaal sought in her directorial debut.

"'As a mother, I thought of all these things, but I didn't see them manifested anywhere. Leda's approach is extreme. I will not leave my child, but no parent has ever thought of just walking out of that damn door .'"

The movie will be shown in theaters on December 17 and will be shown on Netflix on December 31. Watch the trailer below: