Review by Gary Tooze

Production:

Disc:

Video:

Audio:

• Commentary by Director Scott McGehee + David Siegel

• Deleted Scenes (7:20 in 1080P)

• Previews

Second disc DVD

Bitrate:

 

Description: A contemporary reimagining of Henry James' novel, What Maisie Knew tells the story of a captivating little girl's struggle for grace in the midst of her parents' bitter custody battle. Told through the eyes of the title's heroine, Maisie navigates this ever-widening turmoil with a six-year-old's innocence, charm and generosity of spirit.

***

Scott McGehee and David Siegel's adaptation of Henry James' novel What Maisie Knew stars Julianne Moore as Susanna, a self-involved rock-star whose marriage to the equally egotistical Beale (Steve Coogan) is falling apart. They are both less than good parents to their six-year-old daughter Maisie. The girls finds some solace in the care of the family's nanny as well as when she's looked after by Susanna's new boyfriend. What Maisie Knew screened at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival

 

 

The Film:

Excerpt from The Onion located HERE

Image :    NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

What Maisie Knew comes to Blu-ray from Millennium Films. This is only single-layered with a modest bitrate. It actually looks quite good aside from the slight green/blue cast in indoor sequences. Natural lighting produces bright, impressive, colors. Contrast is adept supporting some solid detail. This Blu-ray isn't particularly remarkable in terms of its image but the film itself has some pleasing visuals. By lofty modern standards this is fairly tame visually and may have benefited from dual-layering and a high bitrate. This Blu-ray with a 2.4 widescreen aspect ratio gave me a decent, although not stellar, presentation.

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We get the option of a, lesser used, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track at 1323 kbps or a simple Dolby Digital stereo track. Not a lot of background, rear speaker, activity - park and ocean locales export some but the What Maisie Knew is no actioner and has little depth essentially being a dialogue-driven film experience. Nick Urata's score was subtle and supportive and dialogue was all clear and consistent. There are optional subtitles and my Oppo has identified it as being a region 'A'-locked.

Extras :

 

 

BOTTOM LINE:
I'm afraid I must have been out of the loop on this one - as I didn't quite understand What Maisie Knew or appreciate it. Sure, self-absorbed parents on the success hamster wheel - certainly not new - and the love affair with the, hearts-of-gold, significant others was... awkward. Onata Aprile's performance, as Maisie, was great and I always enjoy Julianne Moore, but I always had the suspicion that we, the audience, were being 'played' as guilty parents. Maybe that was the point. Anyway, it felt contrived and I didn't see much value - that doesn't mean that you won't.  The Millennium Films Blu-ray is no demo but will give you a decent, occasionally impressive (kudos cinematography), presentation. The commentary is a welcome addition. 

Gary Tooze

August 8th, 2013