4 stars out of 5
Does Maisie know that I’ve never read any Henry James? Anyway, I have no idea how closely this movie was based on his 1897 novel. (And yes, I just looked up the year on Wikipedia.) But I liked the movie a whole lot.
Far and away, the star of the movie is 6-year-old Onata Aprile as Maisie, and she is outstanding. Between this and the two kids in Mud, I am furious about the ridiculous representation of a child in Iron Man 3. Onata proves that kids can be subtle, they can be complex, they can be real. And she’s six freaking years old!
Maisie’s parents don’t like each other very much. Her mom (Julianne Moore) is wildly manipulative and a “queen bee”; her dad (Steve Coogan) is aloof, shallow, and simply not around. Not getting the affection she needs at home, Maisie reflexively seeks it from her parents’ post-split lovers (Joanna Vanderham and Alexander Skarsgård). Hey, I got that thing over the “a” on my first try!
This is a quiet, small movie, and not a whole hell of a lot happens. It’s like we’re watching a badminton match as Maisie gets shuttled back and forth in shared custody. In a quick indictment of society, almost every time Maisie meets up with one of her parents, they are in the middle of a phone call. Maisie, meanwhile, learns to adjust, adapt, and keep going.
It’s not a perfect movie, mind you. Somewhere in the middle I thought, “Huh, good thing this isn’t a modern story, or those two characters would hook up.” And, uh, guess what happens. And as much as I love Julianne Moore, it was hard to buy her as a rock star. A bit old for the part, maybe; had to keep thinking about Lucinda Williams. But kudos to the hair stylist who definitely makes Maisie look like a rocker’s daughter (and a pint-sized Suzi Quatro). And still, the age differences on display set up a nice three-generation perspective that adds another layer to the proceedings: cynicism, hope, wonder.
The performances are overall pretty strong. Coogan turns in yet another flippant prick. Vanderham comes across like a kinder, gentler (and Scottish) Elisha Cuthbert. Alexander Skarsgård (who is not Stellan Skarsgård or Peter Sarsgaard) is especially likable; his character’s friendship with Maisie is one of the strongest aspects of the movie.
But it all comes back to Onata Aprile. She animates Maisie by turns with joy, sadness, worry, weariness, and empathy. Never over-the-top, never using puppy-dog eyes to yank at our heartstrings. To sum it up in a bad pun: Amazing.
Jack Silbert, curator