What Maisie Knew is a 2012 drama film directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel and written by Carroll Cartwright and Nancy Doyne.

Starring Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgård, Onata Aprile, Joanna Vanderham and Steve Coogan, it is a modern adaptation of Henry James' 1897 novel What Maisie Knew.

Six-year-old Maisie lives in a New York apartment with her parents, Susanna, a singer in a rock band, and Beale, an international art dealer.

Maisie's time is split between staying with each of her parents, though her primary caregivers become Lincoln and Margo as Susanna leaves on a tour and Beale disappears on business trips.

[3] According to Cartwright, he and Doyne struggled to find producers, financiers and directors interested in making the film because of the challenges of working with a young child at its center.

Producer Charles Weinstock was involved in the project for a number of years and was eventually responsible for obtaining financing from Red Crown Productions and hiring McGehee and David Siegel as directors.

[3] Joanna Vanderham, the last actor to be cast in the film, secured her role two weeks before production started after talking with McGehee, Siegel and Kaufman on Skype from Glasgow.

[12] A scene in which Susanna performs at a concert was filmed at Webster Hall using a pre-recorded vocal track, a backing band and a small audience.

[3] Julianne Moore's character sings two songs in the film, "Night Train" and "Hook and Line", both written and originally recorded by The Kills.

The site's consensus states: "It's undeniably difficult to watch at times, but What Maisie Knew ultimately rises on the strength of its solidly sourced script, powerful performances, and empathetic direction.

[24] In a review for Variety, Justin Chang summarized What Maisie Knew as a "beautifully observed drama" and wrote that, although the plot was consistently dark, it contained "enough sensitivity and emotional variation to make the experience cumulatively heartrending".

[25] New York magazine's David Edelstein praised the subtleties in the writing and performances of the adult characters and opined that the cinematography was "as open and graceful as any [he had] seen all year".

[27] The Los Angeles Times critic Betsy Sharkey also commended Aprile, Moore and Coogan's acting and felt that the "beautifully rendered film" was able to achieve emotional resonance without becoming melodramatic.

[12] John DeFore of The Hollywood Reporter noted the film's "uniformly strong performances" and praised McGehee and Siegel for maintaining a sense of plausibility in spite of the melodramatic plot.

[31] Slant Magazine's Chris Cabin felt that the characters were one-dimensional and stereotypical, and described the film as "an abhorrent slice of tasteless familial drama".