Starring: Onata Aprile, Alexander Skarsgård, Julianne
Moore
Maisie (Aprille) lives with her rock-star mother (Moore)
and her businessman father (Steve Coogan) in New York City. However, when their
marriage ends, Maisie finds herself shuffled between homes and parents who are
setting up new lives; her father marries Margo (Joanna Vanderham), her nanny,
and her mother marries a man named Lincoln (Skarsgård). Torn between her two
feuding parents, Maisie come to find comfort in her two new step-parents.
Based on the 1897 novel by Henry James, this film
adpatation of What Maisie Knew modernises the story and what results is a
largely very touching tale about divorce and the nature of love and
responsibility. The film is largely told from the perspective of Maisie, played
well by Onata Aprille, and as a result we get a great insight from the world of
a small child. Arguments are often behind closed doors and when the tempers
flare it can really sting when given from such a position as an innocent
bystander. Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore give strong performances as the two
largely unlikable but realistic parents. Coogan as a workaholic who often puts
business before his child and Moore as a fierce manipulator who often uses
Maisie in order to keep sole custody. Meanwhile, Alexander Skarsgård and Joanna
Vanderham show a more compassionate element, contrasting the often ageing and
wearying Coogan and Moore by both being more youthful, attractive and sweet
(and also very, very blonde) in a visual contrast which is perhaps a little too
blatant.
The obvious comparison for this film would be Kramer Vs.
Kramer (1979) but What Maisie Knew has an identity all of its own and the
performances are strong enough to push the film between being heart-wrenching
and touching at different moments.
Next time, Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühel play Formula
One rivals James Hunt and Niki Lauda in a sneak preview of Ron Howard's latest
film, Rush.
No comments:
Post a Comment