When Maisie had a friend sleeping over, and she woke up in the middle of the night crying, what was going on? Why was she crying?
shareI think it was to show that any other child would be horrified living in that environment but Maisie was so used to it, she didn't know another life.
shareI also think it was a cliché and corny to throw in an adopted 'Made in China' in the plot !!
I hate clichés in movies.
oh, the little adopted girl has it so much easier than the biological girl. see? we have to favor adoption now, bla bla bla ... phony baloney *bull sh!t* clichés ...
I think you have some issues with the meaning of "cliché." Can you name any of the apparently many, many times you've come across this plot point, exactly?
shareI think you may be projecting your own feelings. I didn't see it that way at all. Tons of people adopt in big cities because women tend to marry and want to have children later only to learn they cannot. I don't think there was a political statement to be made. Instead, it was to show that any 'normal' child would have been mortified in that environment, but little Maisey was completely accustomed to it.
shareWhat a nasty thing to say, and about something that is not a cliché at all. I certainly don't think they were showing, as you put it, that "oh, the little adopted girl has it so much easier than the biological girl." And what exactly do you have against adoptions? Would you prefer that children who are fortunate enough to be adopted by good, loving parents would not be adopted, and stay in whatever situation they were in, for better or worse? Would you have been perfectly happy with that sequence if Zoey were not Asian heritage, but looked like she would have been her parents' bio-child? That entire issue was not the point of the scenes. What WAS very familiar (though not clichéd) was a young child excitedly going for a sleepover, maybe having a great time for awhile, and then becoming heart-wringingly homesick, and crying for his or her parents and home. That's a common occurrence, and one which I can still remember from my own childhood, along with the times I've seen it happen, or been told about it. In the movie, we see Maisie go through so much more disturbing displacements, and managing not to lose her equanimity, or even complain much at all; she knows she needs to take care of the poor adults, and be ready for whatever change is coming at her next.
Multiplex: 100+ shows a day, NONE worth watching. John Sayles' latest: NO distribution. SAD.
Because of the way they're oriented around the table, I had assumed everyone in that room was doing drugs. We don't see it, because Maisie didn't see it, or at least comprehend what it was.
But we see Zoey become upset as she looks around the room, and down at the table.
Also, after Susanna says goodbye to Zoey and her father (after he came to pick her up) she exclaims:
"So much for them testifying for me!"
Getting a call to prematurely pick up your 7 year old from a sleep-over isn't a big deal.
Arriving at the house to pick up your child and finding the "responsible adult" baked out of her skull is a bit less than ideal.
To Zoey's father, it would have been obvious what was going on in that apartment.
But to Maisie, it goes unnoticed - and this film is told from her perspective.
Honestly I think folks are overthinking this. Zoey was crying because little kids miss their mom and dad and their own house when they go on sleepovers (especially the first time or two). In my opinion, the episode is included to remind us of the contrast between Maisie and her peers. Zoey had a very normal childhood experience of anxiety, her loving/reliable parents were called and they came running to her side post haste. We see her being carried out in her father's arms, protected and cared for. Compare that to Maisie's experience -- neither of her parents is looking out for her or meeting her most basic needs.
shareThis.
Honestly, I'm wondering how many of the folks responding have children and have had sleep-overs. More than once when my kids were little were there phone calls to parents to come and pick up a child.
Not really. The scene of her looking uncomfortably around the room of drunk adults makes it clear that she's not used to it and was upset by it.
shareBecause she was frightened. Imagine living in a stable home where its homework before playtime, and early to bed, where you go to sleep to nothing but peace an quiet with only your parents in the house. This is all youve ever known and your a child so to you this is normal because its what youve known all your life. Then imagine going to sleepover at a place that is choatic, filled with strangers youve never met who are getting drunk and probably doing drugs, with load rock n roll music banging away till all hours of the night. Maisie didn't understand because that was the life shed always known so to her that was totally normal. Zoey was scared to death the poor girl!
<3Every great dream begins with a dreamer<3
"Maisie didn't understand because that was the life shed always known"
I agree with the rest of you post but not necessarily this. I think "what Maisie knew" refers to her intuition. I think she absolutely understood why her friend was upset. Somehow, even though Maisie never knew stability, she seemed to know what it looked like and how it must feel. She knew that whatever it was, it was good and she was attracted to it and yearned for it. I think she recognized it when she saw it. Amazingly she "got" how uncomfortable her friend was.
The best thing about Maisie though is that she didn't wallow in pity. She emphathized with her friend, but once her friend left, she wasn't shown crying or anything, she just moved on. Similarly, whenever her parents showed their azzes, she didn't really freak out (save once when she went home with the stranger from the restaurant), she just adjusted and moved on. She was way beyond her years in emotional maturity; her situation required it.
"If it doesn't make sense, it's not true." -- Judge Judy
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She was the little Asian kid that spent the night
share[deleted]