What Maisie Knew
Dir: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
2012
****
Based on Henry James' 1897 novel of the same name, Scott McGehee and David Siegel's contemporary version of What Maisie Knew is pretty much exactly the same, albeit for a couple of slight changes. Updating a story over a hundred years old and making it relevant without loosing any of the original meaning is not something we see every day coming from the world of film but McGehee and Siegel have knocked the nail on the head with this one. It goes to show that the life of a young Child of divorce can still be a tough one. I'm not sure Maisie's mother needed to be a Rock star though. I think Julianne Moore's performance was the weakest by far though as the other three adults and the lovely Onata Aprile did great jobs in their respective roles. Julianne Moore's performance and her unnecessary profession are the two things that are keeping me from giving the film five out of five to be honest, as I found the film to be intelligent, believable and somewhat uplifting. A genuinely nice surprise without the usual schmaltz.