What Maisie Knew

What Maisie Knew is a 2012 drama film directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel and written by Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne. Starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Onata Aprile, Joanna Vanderham and Steve Coogan, it is a modern adaptation of Henry James' 1897 novel What Maisie Knew. The film finds six-year-old Maisie in the middle of a custody battle between her neglectful parents and their new partners. Cartwright and Doyne wrote the film's script in 1995 but the project languished in development hell until McGehee and Siegel were hired as directors. It was filmed in New York over seven weeks in 2011 with music scored by DeVotchKa's Nick Urata. The film premiered at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival, and was theatrically released on May 3, 2013, by Millennium Entertainment. It earned $2.7 million at the global box office and received positive reviews from critics. Plot Six-year-old Maisie (Onata Aprile) lives in a New York apartment with her parents, Susanna (Julianne Moore), a singer in a rock band, and Beale (Steve Coogan), an international art dealer. Susanna and Beale argue with each other viciously and constantly, often ignoring Maisie and leaving her in the care of their nanny, Margo (Joanna Vanderham). Maisie does not always understand her parents' actions, such as when Susanna hires a locksmith to change the lock on the apartment's front door to keep Beale out. When they decide to separate, her parents are granted joint custody of Maisie. After the separation, Margo moves into Beale's apartment and they get married soon afterwards. In response to the marriage, Susanna impulsively marries Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgård), a bartender whom she barely knows. Maisie bonds with Lincoln, but Susanna quickly grows resentful of how much Maisie warms to him.