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Director: Scott McGehee, David Siegel
Writer(s): Nancy Doyne, Carroll Cartwright and Henry James
Cast: Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Alexander Skarsgård
A contemporary reimagining of Henry James’ novel, WHAT MAISIE KNEW tells the story of a captivating little girl’s struggle for grace in the midst of her parents’ bitter custody battle. Told through the eyes of the title’s heroine, Maisie navigates this ever-widening turmoil with a six-year-old’s innocence, charm and generosity of spirit.
An aging rock star (Moore) and a contemporary art dealer (Coogan) — Susanna and Beale are too self-involved even to notice their neglect and inadequacy as parents; their fight for Maisie is just another battle in an epic war of personalities. As they raise the stakes by taking on inappropriate new partners, the ex-nanny Margo and the much younger bartender Lincoln (Vanderham and Skarsgård), the shuffling of Maisie from household to household becomes more and more callous, the consequences more and more troubling. Always watchful, however, Maisie begins to understand that the path through this morass of adult childishness and selfish blindness will have to be of her own making.