What Maisie Knew -- Movie Review (DVD)

-
Rating: ***1/2

Avid readers of my blog know I have a "thing" for Alexander Skarsgard of True Blood fame. So, pretty much any movie he stars in catches my attention. So I did a little research and looked up when What Maisie Knew was coming out (it passed right through the movie theaters). It got great reviews, so I figured putting down the $13 for the DVD would make a great evening of movie-watching. Down my money went and the DVD was popped into my trusty player. I already knew the storyline might be depressing, so I wasn't revved-up for some humorous foray into laughter land. Yes, readers this movie was a downer, but a really good downer (does that count?).

Our small child Maisie is trapped in the tug-of-war between her two extremely damaged parents. The movie is told from her point-of-view, which gives the sadness a greater palpability. The squabbling adults don't seem to notice this child or regard her like any normal parent should. But the "moment" of complete neglect comes when she is dropped off at her stepfather's restaurant, and her mother completely devoid of reality, fails to realize the man isn't working that night. She is then shuffled to a stranger's house and scared. If your heart doesn't just break for this child ... As a mother, I was absolutely astounded.

What Maisie knew actually delves into the deep emotions of flawed and damaged adults. As the mother cried and expressed her pain over the situation and the way she felt, I related (I just went through a divorce). Self-absorption, pain and neglect all swirl into a poignant movie where Julianne Moore gives one of her steady performances, and Alexander Skarsgard is so low key and sweet you want him to be your father, too. In fact, Mr. Skarsgard comes off so well you really do think he would make a terrific father in real life (he doesn't have kids). But it is the little girl whose stoic performance is authentic and beautifully done. It's a sad movie, but it's a great one worth seeing (if you're in the mood).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Step-by-Step Building Sexual Tension Between Characters

-
We'll do a kind of mini-workshop on the blog to show you how to build sexual tension either in a book or script. Watch the two methods I employ between Brea and her love interest Drew. Read it below, and I will deconstruct it for you to show you the slow progression and build up. Please notice, I know the entire storyline between these two, so I'm working by making subtle gestures that only an informed audience would notice, which is why you need to know where your story is going and how you intend for it to end so you can build the foreshadowing into the story. I'm not suggesting you don't let some parts of the story organically evolve, but I do know that to build the story arc you need to the end game and character flaws and motivations. So, let me deconstruct that scene for you. Notice a lot of looks pass between them (keeping the focus on the eye-to-eye contact, which is one of the keys to building sexual tension). And mind you, nothing is sexier than a forbidden
Read more

In Loving Memory -- John Andrew Gamble, 1962-2011

-
Image
I rarely discuss my private life on my blog, but I wanted to take a moment to pay tribute to my brother who passed unexpectedly sometime in July in Wasilla, Alaska . John was a true mountain man. He wasn't the least bit materialistic and never cared about worldly possessions. In the last 20 years after he moved to Alaska, I saw him three times, so we were not close; but I admire that he decided to live life his way up in the wilderness fishing for endless numbers of day. I always wondered how he seemed to never bore of it. He would catch so many salmon, he would live off fresh fish year round. He loved to cook, and I honestly have no idea why he got a degree in marketing from Sacramento State. Looking back on it, I think he would have made a terrific ranger. From an early age, he loved nature. He used to catch trout with his hands up at our family cabin. We would wander the forest together. When we were little, we spent sometimes two to three weeks up there, hiking around the w
Read more

Can I Pick Your Brain?

-
I am blogging about this in response to another blog I saw on the subject. I didn't completely read that author's total opinion, but I read enough to post a big, "You tell 'em sister!" In my line of work as a publisher and marketing specialist, I run into prospective clients who basically through the excuse of preliminary research, put my staff to work to put together proposals, get print quotes, ask endless advice, ask for multiple meetings, etc. -- all under the guise of "picking our brains" and potential business. While we've gotten better about discerning the difference between real business opportunities and those who make endless requests only to spend time drinking coffee with us and going nowhere fast ... except off to either another publisher with our materials (usually one that in their minds is less expensive) or to try and self-publish (again, using our materials). Whether people set out to deliberately use and run, isn't the point.
Read more