What
Maisie Knew: ***/*****, or 6/10
Some
children are blessed with loving parents, while others are stuck with
horribly egocentric folk that just can't get along, to the detriment
of their offspring. Poor Maisie (young newcomer Onata Aprile, only 7
years old at the time of shooting) unfortunately has to contend with
the latter, as her terrible excuses for parents, played by Julianne
Moore and Steve Coogan, simply cannot see eye to eye about anything
and only communicate by shouting at each other and arguing ad
nauseam. Maisie can't remember ever seeing them in another, happier
state of their relationship and has gotten used to their constant
petty bickering, but doesn't let it get her down as she tries to make
the best of it. Of course, the question always on our mind is: does
she understand that the emotionally unhealthy environment she's
growing up in is not the regular way for children to mature? Could
she ever choose between her mother or her father if it came down to
it as they are both lobbying for her unwavering love? Coogan and
Moore certainly excel in playing people you just can't help but hate
for how they're so obviously ruining Maisie's childhood, a fact they
ignore becayse they are more concerned for besting the other in
winning Maisie's love. While we are busy detesting these horrible
guardians for causing her to accept a living condition that is quite
simply unacceptable to behold for anybody with a slightest sense of
reponsibility, hope looms on the horizon as her parents both mix up
with just the right people to turn her life into a more positive
direction. Her father marries her foreign (Scottish) nanny, while her
mother hooks up with a seemingly not so bright, tall guy (Alexander
Skarsgård attempting to shed some of that sinister, scheming vampire
image of his, courtesy of True Blood, by playing a sweet,
easily likeable bartender). Unfortunately the story soon progresses
in the most predictable of directions as these two people, who
actually care more about Maisie as a person than as a means of
annoying the other by acquiring custody of the girl, come to
understand just how easy it is to love this charming child and agree
how much she deserves to be taken care of by decent folks. And
naturally they can't help themselves by also falling in love with
each other when they realize just what a manipulative, sleazy people
Moore and Coogan are, abusing both them and Maisie for their own
purposes as they keep up their disgusting little power play. In terms
of plot development, we soon come to know that What Maisie Knew
has little surprises to offer while delivering its fairly repetitive,
one-sided melodrama. The film makes up for this in the acting
department, where young Aprile stuns the audience with a most
exceptional, truly inspiring and convincing performance; a remarkably
rare occurrence for such a young child, but a solid promise for her
future career in acting should she decide to keep it up (we can only
hope). While the adult actors go through the motions in a more
regular fashion, which isn't devoid of merit but simply not nearly as
mesmerizing, Aprile carries the film as very few other actresses her
age could ever have done, proving just how much truth there is in
that old adage that good casting is doing half the work. What
Maisie Knew is just average in all other regards, but a fabulous
performance like this is well worth checking out, as it is so seldom
witnessed.
