I'm so confused by the title of this movie. It was a good movie, but the whole time I kept waiting for something to happen to fit the title and it never did. Am I the only one that doesn't think the title fits?
shareThe point of the movie was to show the effect divorce has from a child's perspective. A lot of the time adults say and do things around the children that they assume the children won't hear, remember, or understand.
This movie showed that Maisie "knew" neither one of her parents really wanted her or cared enough to fit for her. They only wanted her as a bargaining chip.
Maisie "knew" at the end when her mom shows up that Lincoln and Margo are the only ones that actually care about her.
This movie showed that Maisie "knew" neither one of her parents really wanted her or cared enough to fit for her. They only wanted her as a bargaining chip.
And all the pieces matter (The Wire)share
No, they didn't. They may have told people they did but their actions showed Maisie who actually loved her for real.
No mother that actually loves their daughter drops her off at a bar in the middle of the night in NYC and doesn't even wait until she gets inside or makes sure that Lincoln really is working and can take her. At the end she choose her career over Maisie knowing she was in the right place with people who would actually care for her needs.
The dad was willing to move across the ocean to England to never see her again. He also choose his career over Maisie.
The nanny and step-parent stepped up because they had genuine love for Maisie.
The mom got super jealous that Lincoln was developing a relationship with her. Any loving mother would be so happy that their child was bonding so well with their child and treated them well. She even made a sarcastic comment of you don't get a bonus for making her fall in love with you.
Very insightful discussion. I'm just glad the movie didn't go the abuse/molestation route, sometimes bad parenting is a crime. 7/10
Look at the night sky, where does it end?
I'm just glad the movie didn't go the abuse/molestation route, sometimes bad parenting is a crime.
Me too - I thought it would take the obvious route of abuse but it didn't, thankfully. I give the film 10/10: I thought it was extraordinary
Sounds like i have to watch it then. Thanks for the anti-warning (so to speak) :)
shareI don't think the argument is whether or not she was loved by her parents as much as them not loving her correctly. When you become a parent, an actual parent and not part time or out of convenience, the word "love" has an entirely different definition. It's not something you choose or do but rather something that becomes a part of you as a person, unconditionally. However not everyone figures this out the minute they hold their child or by their first birthday, unfortunately for some it comes later. I think there is a love both parents had for their child, but still loving themselves more was the problem.
shareI think you misunderstood the father's change of heart. He did have an unselfish moment, at first, but when he thought about it a little he replayed in his mind what had happened in NYC and thought that England, if he were to be free to roam around the globe for his business, which he clearly wanted, would be one and the same - possibly even complete with a new faux marriage.
I cannot be 100% sure about that, though, because his change of heart occurred after Maisie asked him when she would see her mother again. His original proposal is also not that unselfish since, while (I think) he thought of his daughter first, he still planned to take her away from her mom.
You are clearly wrong about Margo and Lincoln though. They did the best (humanly possible) they could about Maisie, a child that was not their own, and they never really let her down. What more would you expect them to do, maybe Lincoln should have camped outside his bar in case Maisie's deranged mother thought of leaving her to him without even calling him or making sure he was working that night? Or maybe Margo (after fighting with Bill) should always be on standby for whenever Maisie's parents wanted to get rid of her? If they had shown them breathing and living for her 24/7 it would have been unrealistic, but the writers kept them human.
Fanboy : a person who does not think while watching.share
That's not true either... her biological parents did care, they are just too caught up in their own affairs and career.. they are actually quite alike in that regard. I thought the ending where the mother finally saw her flaws worked well...
shareCaring isn't the same thing as loving your child. People who love their children make time for them, sacrifice things for them. Her dad never, even for a second, considered NOT moving them to another country for his daughter's sake. I'm not saying that he absolutely had to give that up for her but a good parent would have at least considered it an option.
shareWhen Susanna is having her final talk with Maisie before she goes back on tour, she asks, "You know who your mother is, right?"
Maisie nods.
Voila.
http://bit.ly/KaXR9o
You are correct, though the movie shows that Maisie knew so much more. All those arguments where the adults were oblivious to Maisie being within earshot, led to Maisie's understanding of her biological parents' inabilities to make anyone (incl. themselves) happy. Still, she understood ("knew") that her real mother love her, but in a very flawed way.
Please click on "reply" at the post you're responding to. Thanks.share
The way I took it, the answer to your question is: everything you see in the movie. Which is to say, perhaps not the meaning of every discussion and argument, but the overall story of it. The idea is, I think, that people (parents) often think children don't understand or know much about what's going on in a divorce -- and afterwards they might say, "Well, they probably didn't know much about it at the time" -- but the movie shows just what they do understand and know, in other words, what they really did know. Maisie, in this case.
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My vote history: http://www.imdb.com/mymovies/list?l=13037287
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The title seems even more appropriate to the film than the book because the movie limits itself to only showing what Maisie sees and hears. There is nothing in the film that she does not know.
And with so many people reminding her to keep things secret or trying to conceal things from her, I cannot imagine why someone would find the title so baffling.
Maisie also "knows" love, caring, forgiving, sharing, etc. Whereas her biological parents do not. Or at least not enough to take care of her. She is by far the most adult of the three.
shareMaisie knew that BEAUTY + YOUTH > OLD AGE + MONEY.
shareActually the title isn't literal like something she knew its more like the saying "living that way was all she'd ever known" you know what I mean? This is the life Maisie 'knew' so to speak until it changes and she finally has a choice at the end of which life she wants. It was very moving to see her choose between her mom who she loves so much but has only ever known abandonment from and a life full of love and everything she never knew she wanted (a loving stable family with a proper mom and dad).
<3Every great dream begins with a dreamer<3
I too was not sure what to expect when I saw this film. I thought she knew some deep dark family secret and feared it might be something horrible like sexual abuse. Thankfully, it was not. It was one of the best films I have ever seen. I think that the title simply means that the way Maisie lived is all that she knew since she had nothing else to compare.
And rather than being something bad she simply accepted the fact that her biological parents were simply too busy to be around and to be an integral part of her life. The sweet thing as that she seems to love them nonetheless. This is just the way it is!
And she was lucky enough to have a loving and caring pair of "step parents" that would be there to share her daily life. Oddly, as a result of her parents vengeful actions towards one another!
It was normal and "OK" since it was all she knew! Beautiful film and amazing perfomance by a child actor.
I wondered about this, and my conclusion is that
Masie knew what real love and care is.
She shows it (she's incredibly forbearing towards her parents) and she finally receives it.