The happiness of big things
| Movie | |
|---|---|
| German title | The happiness of big things |
| Original title | What Maisie Knew |
| Country of production | United States |
| original language | English |
| Publishing year | 2012 |
| length | 99 minutes |
| Age rating | FSK 12 |
| Rod | |
| Director |
Scott McGehee David Siegel |
| script |
Carroll Cartwright Nancy Doyne |
| production |
Daniela Tablin Lundberg William Teitler |
| music | Nick Urata |
| camera | Giles Nuttgens |
| cut | Madeleine Gavin |
| occupation | |
| |
The happiness of big things (Original title: What Maisie Knew ) is an American film directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel from 2012 . The cinema drama is based on the novel What Maisie knew (1897) by Henry James . The film depicts her parents' divorce from the perspective of little Maisie, played by Onata Aprile . The story has been moved to what is now New York.
action
At the beginning the world still seems fine; Mother Susanna sings her daughter Maisie to sleep. But already the next scene outlines the tragedy of a child who is obviously used to witnessing his parents' loud arguments. The former famous rock singer, struggling with the decline of her career, and the British art dealer Beale, whose business is bad, are ruthlessly dealing with their marital problems in front of the child. Maisie, a bright six-year-old, seems to be fine with it; Disguised as a colorful little lion, she jumps around the apartment, collects the money for the pizza delivery on her own and is led by her loving nanny Margo onto the terrace, where she suggests a round of TicTacToe on the pizza box. The next evening, too, the child is left to their own devices, smears a peanut butter sandwich and falls asleep with a cola and chips in front of an animal documentary.
Eventually the father leaves his family and his wife changes the lock on the apartment; she celebrates her new freedom with her fellow musicians until late at night. Maisie can invite an overnight guest (Zoe) and join in. When the bat flies, she hops and dances through the rooms to the music of her mother. Her friend Zoe is overwhelmed, cries and finally has to be picked up. Maisie's world is not easy to bear. Then one morning they go to court, the unsuspecting child is questioned by a judge and the parents divorce; But now it's getting worse for Maisie because her parents are fighting over her now. No question, they love their daughter, but they love themselves even more. Beale and Susanna quickly marry again, the father with the nanny Margo, the mother with the dreamy bartender Lincoln, for advantages in the custody battle. Maisie takes it, accepts it, like anything her parents do. She proudly introduces her new stepfather, Lincoln, whom she quickly becomes fond of, to school; Margo has always been an important confidante of the child. While Beale and Susanna soon give priority to their careers again in a boundless egoism, Maisie is increasingly being dumped at Margo and Lincoln. That turns out to be lucky for the child, because both of them take the girl into their hearts - and in the process they too come closer.
While Maisie's mother is actually on tour, she runs into Margo, Lincoln and Maisie. After an argument in which Susanna accuses the two of taking her daughter away from her, Lincoln makes it clear to her that it is over between the two and brings it to the point with Susanna: "You don't deserve her."
In the end, Margo "saves" Maisie from the increasingly grotesque situation of being at the mercy of irresponsible parents and takes the child to an idyllic house by the sea, Lincoln joins them and all three live there like a small family. When Susanna comes by and wants to take Maisie on her tour, the tour bus full of presents, the girl shakes her head for the first time. No, she stays - this time she won't go. Susanna yells at her daughter. But when she realizes that this is getting scared of her, she realizes that Maisie is happy with Margo and Lincoln and she decides that she can stay with them longer.
Reviews
“The happiness of big things is neither a heartbreaking divorce tragedy à la Kramer versus Kramer, nor a depressing social worker drama that pillories the moral reprehensibility of parental misconduct. Rather, despite its serious theme, the film breathes an openness and lightness that arises from the fact that the directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel (The Deep End) consistently show the events from the child's perspective. Maisie often only sees her parents' conflicts out of the corner of her eye and the consequences of the war of divorce keep falling upon her without warning. "
"Discreetly, but without concessions, directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel touch a collective wound: the quiet but constant abuse that children experience when they witness emotional violence between adults."
“Without letting children's tears roll down their cheeks, the directors and screenwriters manage to break your heart if Maisie puts away her parents' crap without complaint, simply because she can't help it: Children depend on their parents, and Maisie has to get along with the jetsetter art dealer dad and the rock star tour mom. "
"The Happiness of Big Things is a masterpiece of common adult life from the point of view of an unspoiled six-year-old, whose point of view is explained in Henry James: 'Maisie's innocence is saturated with knowledge'."
Festivals and Awards
The film was an official entry at the Toronto International Film Festival 2012. Scott McGehee and David Siegel were nominated for the Tokyo Sakura Grand Prix at the Tokyo International Film Festival 2012 .
Web links
- What Maisie Knew in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- sueddeutsche.de