What Maisie Knew
Directors: Scott McGhee and David Siegel
Cast: Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Alexander Skarsgard, Joanna Vanderham, Onata Aprile
Rating: (M)
4 stars (out of 5)
''I love you so much, my darling,'' is a phrase repeated so often by ageing rock star Susanna (Julianne Moore) to her daughter Maisie (Onata Aprile) that its sincerity is not the only thing in question.
Sandwiched between two narcissistic parents fighting over the scraps of their train-wreck marriage, Maisie is a wide-eyed 7-year-old with a backstage pass to places a child of this age should not go.
Adapted from an 1897 Henry James novel, What Maisie Knew is an amazing dissection of a dysfunctional family seen through the eyes of a child. Brought to life wonderfully by Aprile, Maisie struggles to make sense of the craziness that becomes her norm.
Maisie wants for nothing materially but does not get the support and love she craves. Shuttled between the boundless bohemian existence of her mother and the loveless apartment of her aloof art-dealer father Beale (Steve Coogan), Maisie does what any 7-year-old might do in a similar situation: she clings to the care given to her by two unwitting bystanders.
After looking after Maisie as her nanny, and then marrying Beale, Margo (Joanna Vanderham) takes care of Maisie after she too is abandoned.
Likewise, Susanna's marriage to bartender Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard) lands him an unlikely role as a father figure.
In the midst of this madness, Maisie emerges as a more grounded person than any of her adult carers.
Best thing: Onata Aprile's amazing performance: it's as if she is actually living the scenario being acted out around her.
Worst thing: Realising that this situation isn't just a work of fiction.
See it with: Anyone contemplating a family.
