Movie Ratings That Actually Work    Become a Member

"One of the 50 Coolest Websites...they simply tell it like it is" - TIME

What Maisie Knew | 2013 | R | - 2.3.5

Contemporary interpretation of Henry James’s 1897 novel, set in present-day NYC: A young girl seems to have it all, but is caught between her affluent parent's acrimonious fights and bitter custody battle. With Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan, Alexander Skarsgard, Joanna Vanderham and Onata Aprile. Directed by Scott McGhee & David Siegel. [1:39]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man kisses a young woman briefly. A man kisses a woman on the cheek. We see a man holding a woman's hand and running his fingers over her palm. A woman drapes her legs over a man's legs as they cuddle on a sofa.
 A man is startled when he sees another man trying to kiss his daughter on the head (he is her stepfather).
 A young girl spies a man (her stepfather) wearing boxer-style underwear (his bare back and chest are visible) while walking down the hallway.
 A young girl overhears a conversation between two men about how one of the men had been startled when he entered a room and found another man naked; the young girl's stepfather also hears the conversation and takes the young girl away. A woman asks her young daughter if her father "kisses" a young woman, or if they share a bed and the young girl avoids the question.

VIOLENCE/GORE 3 - We hear a man pounding on a door and shouting to be let in; a woman approaches the door and shouts back at the man, scolding him for pounding on the door when their young daughter is awakened by the shouting and listens as her parents scream at one another through the closed door.
 A woman shouts at a man driving a car as he honks at her and two men and a young woman standing in the middle of the street; the man shouts back. A woman shouts at her young daughter and the young girl shrinks away; the woman asks if the young girl is afraid of her and then starts to cry and apologizes. A man and woman shout at each other while their young daughter is present and she walks away unfazed. A young girl walks into a room and finds her mother and father shouting at each other. A woman screams at a man in front of their young daughter and her teacher, accusing the man of wanting to kidnap their daughter and take her to Argentina; the man shouts back and they eventually part ways. We hear a woman and a man shouting (they are married and the man is a stepfather) as their young daughter walks away. A man shouts at his wife and walks away, frustrated as the woman takes her young daughter from him. We hear a woman whisper-shouting during a phone call with an unseen man. A young woman shouts at an unseen man over the phone and the man's young daughter watches and hears the young woman shouting. A young woman shouts at a man and a young girl and moments later begins to cry and apologizes for shouting. A woman is visibly frustrated and begins to cry in front of her young daughter.
 A woman instructs her young daughter to tell the court that her father had "thrown her" -- the girl says she does not remember and the woman responds angrily saying that the man had thrown the young girl "across the room" and then "shouted in her face" and she is obviously upset when the girl does not remember the incident. A young girl shows her mother a mark on her arm (we do not see the mark) and the woman is obviously upset; the young girl tells the woman that she had burnt her arm on a stove when her father allowed her to use the stove by herself.
 A young girl wanders aimlessly through a restaurant after her mother drops her off and the young girl's stepfather is not there; we see her sleeping on a set of chairs and later being carried home by a young woman; the young girl awakens in the middle of the night and is upset when she discovers a young woman, who tries to calm her down, telling her that she is going to find her stepfather.
 A young boy remarks to a young girl that he hopes that her father does not tell her that her dog is dead. A young boy announces to a class that he has two stepfathers, but one is "almost dead." A girl reads a story to her mother and stepfather about castle living, announcing that a group of people "almost died."
 A man tells a young woman that he had been bitten by a turtle when younger and had a scar on his finger.
 A young girl pantomimes "shooting" with her hand, and her stepfather dramatically falls to the ground, clutching his chest; the young girl laughs and he stands up smiling.

LANGUAGE 5 - About 9 F-words and its derivatives, 1 obscene hand gesture (a woman uses an obscene hand gesture in front of her young daughter), 2 sexual references, 4 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 2 mild obscenities, name-calling (liar and thief, headcase, total Nazi, delusional self, narrow minded, smells funny, tramp with a daddy complex, stalker, idiot), 2 religious profanities, 10 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - A woman is seen holding glasses of wine, we see glasses of wine as a man and a young woman have dinner with the man's young daughter, a man rapidly drinks a glass of wine, two young girls wander through an active house party where men and women are smoking and people are drinking and pouring wine and alcoholic drinks, and we see a young girl sitting at a bar and people around her drink alcoholic drinks while she drinks a Shirley Temple. Throughout the movie we see a woman smoking cigarettes, and two men at a party smoking a cigarette.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Child custody, divorce, regret, child abandonment, stepparents, frustration.

MESSAGE - Child custody battles can be very difficult.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $1/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we don't always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

how to
support us

PLEASE DONATE

We are a totally independent website with no connections to political, religious or other groups & we neither solicit nor choose advertisers. You can help us keep our independence with a donation.

NO MORE ADS!

Become a member of our premium site for just $2/month & access advance reviews, without any ads, not a single one, ever. And you will be helping support our website & our efforts.

WHAT DO YOU THINK?

We welcome suggestions & criticisms -- and we will accept compliments too. While we read all emails & try to reply we do not always manage to do so; be assured that we will not share your e-mail address.

Subscribe to our newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter

Know when new reviews are published
We will never sell or share your email address with anybody and you can unsubscribe at any time

You're all set! Please check your email for confirmation.

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This