An achingly poignant and quietly brilliant modern retelling of a Henry James story.
The filmmakers make the bold decision to tell the entire story through the point of view of Maisie, a little girl caught in the middle of her parents' bitter breakup. Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore play the mom and dad, and while neither are at heart bad people (though both make strong arguments for that label at various points throughout the film), it's clear that neither should ever have been a parent. They end up hating each other, and using Maisie as a way to get at one another. It's an old story (at least as old as Henry James), but the treatment of it here feels fresh and like something I haven't seen before. The two real caregivers are Maisie's ex-nanny and her mom's new boy toy, both of whom take on the obligation of caring for Maisie even when it's downright weird for them to only because they know that no one else will if they don't. These two fall in love, and create a sort of stand-in nuclear family with Maisie at its center. This should probably feel implausible, but it doesn't the way it plays out the in film.
The acting is excellent all the way around, especially from Julianne Moore, who tears into an unflattering role with everything she's got. Watching a mother realize that the daughter she loves (and make no mistake, flawed as Moore's character is, she does love her daughter) would be better off without her is tough stuff to watch.
Grade: A
The filmmakers make the bold decision to tell the entire story through the point of view of Maisie, a little girl caught in the middle of her parents' bitter breakup. Steve Coogan and Julianne Moore play the mom and dad, and while neither are at heart bad people (though both make strong arguments for that label at various points throughout the film), it's clear that neither should ever have been a parent. They end up hating each other, and using Maisie as a way to get at one another. It's an old story (at least as old as Henry James), but the treatment of it here feels fresh and like something I haven't seen before. The two real caregivers are Maisie's ex-nanny and her mom's new boy toy, both of whom take on the obligation of caring for Maisie even when it's downright weird for them to only because they know that no one else will if they don't. These two fall in love, and create a sort of stand-in nuclear family with Maisie at its center. This should probably feel implausible, but it doesn't the way it plays out the in film.
The acting is excellent all the way around, especially from Julianne Moore, who tears into an unflattering role with everything she's got. Watching a mother realize that the daughter she loves (and make no mistake, flawed as Moore's character is, she does love her daughter) would be better off without her is tough stuff to watch.
Grade: A