Set in New York City, Scott McGehee & David Siegel's What Maisie Knew tells the story of Maisie, a young girl caught in the midst of her parent's custody battle. Told almost exclusively through the eyes of this young girl, What Maisie Knew is a touching and sensitive exploration of the effect dysfunction can have on young children. What Maisie Knew captures the loneliness and isolation a young child can go through in a custody battle situation, with each parent just as focused on winning custody as they are in maintaining to care for her their daughter. The film is never manipulative managing to avoid overly sentimental trappings in delivering a film that captures the wear and tear a child can feel by being consistently transplanted back and forth on nearly a daily basis. For the most part the film does a good job at never leaving Maisie's point-of-view, making much of the dysfunctional relationship between her mother and father unknown to this young child. The viewer on the other-hand can grasp the subtleties, understanding some of the driving factors behind this failed relationship. While Kramer vs. Kramer would probably be the most heralded film about a similar subject matter What Maisie Knew is much more focused on the child's point-of-view, being much more scathing towards the two parents caught up in this battle who essentially begin to neglect their child because of it. The story and execution of the narrative is what stands out the most about What Maisie Knew but the cinematography is well-realized which I could only describe as sensitive, using some soft-focus and well-composed imagery to further help transport the viewer into young Maisie's sentiment. While I'm not sure What Maisie Knew would make my end of the year list, I'm pretty surprised it hasn't shown up on more lists this year, being a extremely well-crafted film about family turmoil that is tragic, heart-warming, and not the least bit manipulative. 8.25/10
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AuthorLove of all things cinema brought me here. Archives
June 2023
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