WHAT MAISIE KNEW (2013) – The Review

Arriving in theatres this weekend  is a heart-wrenching drama that explores the very modern struggle between two adults who have fallen out of love. Fallen hard. But they can’t completely go their separate ways after dividing up their possessions. They’ve produced a child (and there’s really no simple way to divide her). They battle over the child in court and sometimes use her as a weapon to punish the ex-spouse. That’s the very modern problem at the heart of WHAT MAISIE KNEW, based on the acclaimed work by Henry James. Yes, that Henry James who wrote it way back in 1897. Hmm, maybe this is not that modern a problem.

As the film begins middle-aged former couple Susanna (Julianne Moore) and Beale (Steve Coogan) are engaged in yet another verbal battle (punctuated by the dropping of many F-bombs) in front of the product of their dissolved common-law union, 7-year old Maisie (Onata Aprile). Susanna is an aging rock-n’-roll diva while Beale is a fast-talking, jet-setting art dealer. Neither thinks the other is a fit parent, so they enlist a bevy of lawyers to battle for custody in the NYC courts. . Also caught in the battle is Maisie’s twenty-something Scottish nanny (employed by Susanna) Margo (Joanna Vanderham) who provides the child some much-needed stability. Things get complicated when Beale becomes romantically involved with the naive much-younger caregiver. The two eventually marry, perhaps to sway the judge to award them full custody. Susanna tries to counter this by eloping with a much-younger bartender named Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard), who connects immediately with the lonely Maisie. As the months slowly pass, the little girl is bounced between NYC apartments as Susanna embarks on another concert tour, Beale travels the globe, and their new spouses try to give her a nurturing home life amidst the constant chaos.

We watch this story unfold through the sad, confused eyes of the achingly sweet Aprile. She never seems to be mimicking or performing, but really reacting to the perplexing words and actions of the adults around her. This is the best acting by a youngster since last year’s BEASTS OF THE SOUTHERN WILD. Vanderhaum is also very good as a young woman who follows her heart and becomes a pawn in this never ending battle. She wants to love and protect Maisie, but is confused about her role in the little girl’s life. Skarsgard quickly develops a great rapport with Aprile. He relishes his new role as father, while being at a loss in understanding his new wife. We can understand why Maisie falls hard for him. Coogan has less screen time as the parent who seems to always be elsewhere, even when he’s in the same room (when he’s paying more attention to his cell phone and laptop than to his daughter). A breakfast scene with Aprile where he puts out the idea of moving back to England with her, then immediately backtracks is heartbreaking. But the real showcase role belongs to Moore as the self-absorbed rocker who knows her time in the spotlight is nearly at an end. At times she’s desperate to keep her daughter, at other times the little girl is an inconvenience who interferes with her hard partying lifestyle. Susanna is possessive (actually jealous of her new hubby’s bond with Maisie), passive aggressive, verbally abusive (deriding her ex-lover), and blithely irresponsible. This is quite a departure from the warm, earthy roles that Moore is best known for. Her Susanna may be the most detestable screen Mom since THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE. You keep wondering how she could be related to this little angel.

Directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel present a New York City full of bustling sidewalks and idyllic parks that are a safe haven from all the misery enacted in the deluxe apartments and lofts. This is a quality film, extremely well executed, but what is the point of it? Do they want to show us that the rich and famous can be just as small and bitter as the dirt poor? That the well-educated and cultured can be self-centered and insensitive to their off-spring? Not a huge surprise, really. One of the parents has a brief epiphany in the final minutes, but we never see them really act on it. At times the film almost wallows in misery as we fear for the safety of that poor little rich girl. A trip to the grocery store or shopping mall can give us many scenes of oblivious, lazy parenting. With such a gifted cast we expect a film that enlightens rather than exploits a damaged family unit. WHAT MAISIE KNEW becomes painfully obvious to the audience just  a few minutes after the opening titles: she’s a lot more mature than the two bratty monsters masquerading as her folks.

2 Out of 5 

WHAT MAISIE KNEW screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas