I have not read the original story so came to this tale of a child's experience of parental love, lost and found, with few preconceptions. It's a fairly undemanding movie to watch partly because there is a lack of conviction in the acting of the parents, played by Joanne Moore and Steve Coogan. The former plays an ageing, self-absorbed rock artist (Susanna) while the latter portrays her equally self-centred art-dealer husband (Beale), but neither manage to produce an emotionally compelling performance. Moore never seems to be able to escape the impression of being a Hollywood actress acting,while Coogan comes over as rather shifty and slightly odd and deploys an accent that varies from pure Coogan to slightly transatlantic Coogan. Joanna Vanderham, playing his second wife (Margo), also seems afflicted by a wobbly accent that floats from hints of Irish to increasingly strong Scots. Onata Aprile, as Maisie, is engaging throughout but a cute kid is not enough to raise the production beyond the average. The best acting comes from Alexander Skarsgard (Lincoln), who gives us the one moment of emotive power when he has a spat in the street with Susanna. It was a bold move to end the film with a long slow motion shot of Maisie running into the sunset - bold but still a dreadful cliché! Compared to other recent films depicting a child's struggles in an adult world (eg Kid On a Bike, I Wish, Sister) What Maisie Knew falls well short. But still watchable. (Viewed at Screen 3, The Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK 24 August 2013)
Review of What Maisie Knew
