Based on the Henry James novel, this tale of marital spite, sexual jealousy and weakness is viewed entirely through the prism of a child who doesn’t understand everything she’s witnessed. Maisie rebounds between her acrimoniously divorcing parents like a tennis ball. A pawn in a bitter game, what Maisie learns is that no adult will protect her, despite their sincere but woefully inadequate declarations of love. 2012, USA, 99 minutes, rated R for language
A post-film discussion will be led by Sharon Klempner, LCSW, BCD and Dr. Kenneth Silvestri, psychologist.
“What Maisie Knew” sees things that most of us manage to hide. James might have been shocked by the movie’s profane taunts, but he would have recognized the system of betrayals, large and small, that he dramatized so well.” – David Denby, The New Yorker
“The result is a film that deeply engages us on multiple levels. Not only do we wonder what Maisie knows and how she knows it, we want to get this seedling to a place where she won’t have to be transplanted every day.” – Carrie Rickey, Philadelphia Inquirer
“What Maisie Knew lays waste to the comforting dogma that children are naturally resilient, and that our casual, unthinking cruelty to them can be answered by guilty and belated displays of affection. It accomplishes this not by means of melodrama, but by a mixture of understatement and thriller-worthy suspense.” – A.O. Scott, The New York Times
“Who would have thought that one of the most provocative and affecting films made about the fallout from 21st century divorce would have emanated from a 19th century novel?” – Claudia Puig, USA Today
