Review of What Maisie Knew (2013) by Jesse O — 15 Aug 2013

Incredible movie focusing on the pretty nasty custody battle between parents from the point of view of the daughter they're so desperately fighting for. I don't think the parents were "bad" people per se, they're just using Maisie as a pawn in this custody battle, they really don't have the best interests of the child at hand, they just want to outdo each other in front of the courts.

This leads to Maisie, whether subconsciously or not, gravitating to her stepmother and her stepfather, married to her father and mother respectively, for the comfort and love that she really needs. They, even more so than her parents, give her the love and the attention she deserves and seeing how she adjusts and, really, thrives in a new and more loving and stable environment.

The movie is emotionally complex and sometimes even heartbreaking without being overtly sentimental or maudlin. It's clear the movie cares for its characters and the direction reflects that. They behave like real human beings and not just caricatures of one.

The acting is strong and, as mentioned, it doesn't make the parents look as bad as they do look foolish and selfish, in using their daughter as a pawn to fuck with the other, because deep down, I think they both loved that girl and in the end they both did selfless things to ensure that Maisie would be happy.

It's just that they were concentrated on screwing with each other for so long that they forgot they were playing with someone's life. The movie is certainly heartbreaking because seeing how the parents move Maisie back and forth, not even providing a stable environment for the girl, while also constantly arguing with each other and seeing how Maisie reacts to all of this.

It's clear she knows something is wrong, but she's not able to vocalize it, probably because of her age, but it is very clear that this situation she's in is heartbreaking to this little girl.

And the ending is particularly bittersweet because while it is a touching, and ultimately, happy ending, you're not sure how long this happiness is going to last before one of the parents decides to try to gain custody of Maisie again.

So yea, this is an excellent movie...I think it captures the complexities of this type of custody battle perfectly. It isn't a perfect film, but it's still tremendous so I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this movie at all.

It's more than worth watching.