There is no point prevaricating or procrastinating.

This is film-making of the highest order.

Adapted from a Henry James novel, written at the end of the nineteenth century, What Maisie Knew is the terribly sad, yet ultimately hopeful story of a young girl, Maisie, who is collateral damage – what used to be called cannon fodder – in her parents’ acrimonious break up. James’s story has been updated to a contemporary setting, the action set in New York rather than London, but the themes remain the same. It’s perhaps best not to dwell on the fact that deep-seated flaws in the human condition have not changed fundamentally in over a century. Better education, travel and information technology may have induced a smug, self-satisfied belief that we are so morally superior to our ancestors, but it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same…

 The film is seen mostly from the confused and inchoate world of seven year old Maisie (Onata Aprile). You rarely hear about what her parents (Julianne Moore and Steve Coogan) argue. All you hear are their rants, often drunken or drug-fuelled, and their vitriolic and foul-mouthed abuse spat at each other in earshot of their daughter whose welfare they both speciously claim to be their only priority. It takes very little time to establish that these two self-consumed people each have only one priority in their respective lives.

The film is at its very best when Julianne Moore is centre stage. This is hardly surprising – she is one of the finest film actors of her generation with a commanding screen presence and always able to bring an edge to her characterisations. With four Oscar nominations on her Résumé already, she can consider herself robbed if this role as a fading rock star fails to garner a fifth.

There is very strong support from both Alexander Skarsgård and Joanna Vanderham as the step-parents who struggle to bring a semblance of stability and compassion to Maisie’s dysfunctional and mentally-battered life. Making her big screen debut, Scottish actor Joanna Vanderham is a charming delight and on this evidence will surely attract more great roles. The very young Onata Aprile is perfectly cast as Maisie, her performance never cloying nor bathetic.

The actors, fine as they are, have also been gifted with a great, tight script from writers Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright who skilfully develop all the film’s protagonists ensuring that they are not two dimensional stereotypes and showing that even the most selfish and shallow can carry a spark of decency. The way supporting actors Skarsgård and Vanderham are allowed to grow their characters from apparently superficial paramours to show they amount to so much more was one of the film’s many highlights.

Billed as joint directors, Scott McGehee and David Siegel are also on top of their game. The film flows naturally, its story and pacing is most even. The use of many close-ups instils an intimacy, and often having the camera at the eye level of a six-year old girl was also most effective; this combination had the effect of drawing the audience in and blurring the fourth wall – several times I turned away, closing my eyes and grimacing, feeling the pain of those I was watching. McGehee and Siegel also demonstrated how very limited use of hand-held camera can enhance a film when used most selectively.

This is simply a film where everything comes together, where everything works and everyone involved can be proud of their efforts. Don’t be put off that the subject matter might, ostensibly, be a little bleak. It goes much deeper than that.

4.5 stars.

 Tim Meade