What Maisie Knew DVD Review

What Maisie Knew is a truly wonderful film about a young girl caught in the middle of a custody battle. The film stars Julianne Moore (one of my favorite actors) as Susanna, the girl’s mother, and Steve Coogan (I loved him in Hamlet 2) as Beale, the girl’s father, and both give seriously good performances.

One of the many things that makes this film special is that it is shown from the perspective of the young girl, so a lot of the arguing and crazy adult behavior is overheard and glimpsed at, rather than at the center of action. The main element that makes this film well worth watching, however, is Onata Aprile’s performance as Maisie. According to the DVD commentary track, she was only six years old when this was filmed, and yet her performance is as good as any I’ve seen in the last several years. Of course, the entire cast is incredibly strong. In addition to Moore, Coogan and Aprile, the film features Alexander Skarsgard as Lincoln and Joanna Vanderham as Margo, the two adults who find themselves caught up in the battle.

The film’s focus is on Maisie, and that focus is established almost immediately. In an early scene, the pizza delivery man arrives, and Maisie goes to answer the door, followed by Margo, the young, beautiful nanny. While Maisie carries the pizza in, we hear Susanna and Beale arguing. Beale says, “I’ve done my mid-life crisis - you should get on with yours,” a line that made me laugh. We then quickly see a series of images of Maisie at school – normal stuff, joyful stuff. Then at home, she makes herself a sandwich while we hear the parents arguing again. Then she’s in bed, and again we hear arguing. It seems that she’s fairly well adjusted and learning to take care of herself. It is the parents that can’t quite seem to adjust.

Susanna is a rock singer, and Beale is often away on business, so it is Margo that seems to spend the most time with Maisie. After Susanna and Beale split up, they are awarded joint custody, even though they were never married. And when Maisie goes to stay at Beale’s home, she finds Margo there. (Beale says that most of the toys in her new room were picked out by Margo – yet one more detail showing who is really doing the parenting here).

When Beale and Margo get married, Susanna suddenly marries a man named Lincoln.  It’s childish and impulsive, though Susanna whispers to Maisie, “I married him for you.” And indeed, it will be Lincoln and Margo that really show affection and concern for the little girl. They’re the only ones that seem to know how to talk to her. Susanna is wildly inappropriate at times, either very distant or completely clingy. (There is an excellent scene where Susanna suddenly displays intense jealousy when Lincoln first befriends Maisie.)

The film has many great moments. Susanna hires a new nanny, a much older woman that Maisie doesn’t like. “She smells funny,” Maisie tells her mother. Susanna replies, “She does not smell funny. That’s the way a nanny is supposed to smell.” Meanwhile, Maisie is petting the fur cuff of Susanna’s coat. It’s adorable.

The scene when both Lincoln and Margo arrive at Maisie’s school to pick her up is excellent. Margo is supposed to have already left for her honeymoon, but Maisie doesn’t want her to go, as she hasn’t really even met Lincoln yet. You can see the fear and worry in her eyes. Margo gets into a taxi, and says to Maisie, “Please say bye.” And Maisie just looks at her. It’s a heartbreaking moment. But the scene doesn’t end there. Maisie then lifts her hand up to Lincoln when they’re about to cross the street. It’s so sweet and awkward and completely wonderful. This film is full of moments like that. And it does a great job of sticking with Maisie’s perspective.

The film is based on the novel by Henry James. The screenplay is by Nancy Doyne & Carroll Cartwright, and the film was directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel.

Special Features

The DVD includes a commentary track by the two directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel. They laugh about how one of the first things Julianne Moore told them was that she couldn’t sing, and how they convinced her she could. (And she certainly can.) A lot of the arguing between the parents was done as improvisation. And of course they talk a lot about Onata Aprile’s performance.

There are also a few deleted scenes. The most interesting of the deleted scenes is a late scene with Maisie and a locksmith. It’s an interesting counterpoint to an earlier locksmith scene, in which Susanna had the lock changed so that Beale couldn’t get in. In this deleted scene, a locksmith comes to actually make it easier for them to get into a house, as the lock keeps sticking. By the way, according to the commentary track, this scene was one of Onata’s audition pieces. One of the other deleted scenes is a music video with Julianne Moore’s character singing.

The DVD also includes the film’s trailer.

What Maisie Knew is scheduled to be released on DVD and Blu-ray on August 13, 2013 through Millennium Entertainment.