agmtw logo
search

What Maisie Knew (2012)

What Maisie Knew (2012)

The Very Best

9.0

A sometimes hard-to-watch but powerful exploration of how a bad divorce can end an innocent childhood.

Movie

United States of America
English
Drama
2013

What it's about

The story frames on 7-year-old Maisie, caught in a custody battle between her mother – a rock and roll icon – and her father. What Maisie Knew is an evocative portrayal of the chaos of adult life seen entirely from a child’s point of view.

The take

From the producers of The Kids Are Alright comes another excellent family drama starring Juliane Moore. She plays a hot-headed rock singer who battles her divorced husband, a narcissistic art dealer, expertly played by the unlikely Steeve Coogan, for custody of her daughter Maisie. When one of them marries the girl's nanny, the other rushes into marriage as well. Based on Henry James' titular novel from 1897, it tells the story of a quiet, sensitive young girl coping with being used as a pawn by egotistical parents who spite each other. It is sometimes hard to watch the girl get caught up in all this but the young actress playing Maisie, Onata Aprile, plays the part brilliantly. The screenplay adaption of the ahead-of-its-time material of the book by Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright also hits every note with passion. A harrowing but powerful film.

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

Anora (2024)

An exciting and heartbreaking fairy tale with a modern, class-centric twist

9.0

My Old Ass (2024)

A pleasant mix of comedy and coming-of-age that may or may not leave you in tears

8.0

Once Were Warriors (1994)

A Maori family survives in an alienating Auckland in this raw, tragic drama

8.0

Silenced (2011)

A brutal and harrowing exposé of the schoolwide abuse case that sparked outrage in Korea

9.0

The Substance (2024)

Demi Moore swaps bodies in this standout chaotic body dysmorphia horror

8.3

Laapataa Ladies (2024)

Two brides are accidentally swapped in this refreshing comedy of errors

8.9

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

Look Back (2024)

Art connects people through time and space in this short and sweet drama

9.0

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)

Soldiers find and protect a slice of paradise in this surreal, heartfelt war comedy

8.1

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.