Tuesday, July 30, 2013

What Maisie Knew


What Maisie Knew is the exploration of a child custody battle from the perspective of a child. Although I would like to, I can’t wholly dismiss What Maisie Knew. The performances by a well-stocked cast and newcomers, Joanna Vanderham and child actress Onata Aprile, nearly give pathos to the script, but by the end of the film I question the motivations of the characters. To question the motivations of the characters, exclusively the adult characters, in the film would give way to spoilers. I will not do that, because I do think the performance of Onata Apirle, played here as Maisie, is worth a viewing. This isn’t a film I will revisit, but Apirle’s chops stand out even when she is in the same frame as Julianne Moore. For that alone, I recommend everyone see the often hard to watch (due to child neglect and psychological abuse in nearly every scene) What Maisie Knew. I expect we will see more from Apirle in the future. 

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