What Maisie Knew

Set against the brisk energy of New York City, the film follows Maisie, a perceptive and stubborn eight-year-old who becomes the center of a complicated custody drama. Her parents' separate lives collide in a way that tugs her from one home to the next, from her mother's refined circle to her father's more uncertain arrangements, and into the orbit of guardians who see Maisie as a means to an end. She witnesses adults negotiating, disguising, and sometimes bending the truth, yet she maintains a practical poise and a keen sense of safety. The story translates a classic moral quandary into a contemporary, intimate portrait told through a child's unfiltered observations.

Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, What Maisie Knew updates Henry James for a modern Manhattan setting. The film, produced on a modest budget and anchored by Onata Aprile as Maisie, features Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, and Alexander Skarsgård.

Though not a box office smash, the film drew praise for craft and perspective. Critics applauded its intimate camera work and the way it situates a child at the center of adult schemes, with Aprile delivering a perceptive, restrained performance that invites sympathy for Maisie's own agency.

Critics highlighted the film's restrained tone and its refusal to simplify adult motives. The themes focus on wealth and desire shaping family life, the fragility of trust, and a child's need for stability when loyalties shift around her.