What Maisie Knew- Heartbreaking at Times, yet Delightful in the End

What Maisie knew tells the story of a 7 year old girl stuck in the middle of a very bitter and ugly custody battle. The whole movie is mainly seen through the eyes of the little girl "Maisie" played by "Onata Aprile", who was simply amazing in this performance, she doesn't say much, but she really doesn't have to her face does all the talking! She conveys all her emotions with a simple look, her eyes are very expressive and that's really what catches your attention. The way she simply looks upon her mother (played by Julianne Moore), who was just remarkably great at being horrible, when she asks her a question that you obviously shouldn't be asking a 7 year old!! Or when her father is trying to explain why he has to leave without taking her with him, she absorbs all that information in and responds with a simple look or nod, which her parents always took as a sign that she understands and is ok with whatever horrible decision they are making. You definitely feel for the little girl , she's going through one of the most dreadful things possible, a divorce, and from the beginning we can see that her parents aren't really meant to be parents. Her mother is an aging rockstar who can't face the fact that she isn't as successful as she used to be, and her dad is an art dealer always traveling from one place to another, they are simply not responsible and are obviously the kind of people who are never gonna change they're lifestyle to accommodate the fact that they have a child now! A child who requires attention and love, not in the form of gifts, as they seem to believe. So of course there has to be some good in this poor girls life, its not all sadness, and that is when we are introduced to the delightful characters of "Margo" the nanny played by the very cute "Joanna Vanderham" and "Lincoln" the bartender/Stepdad (her mother's boy toy) played by the adorable "Alexander Skarsgard" these two at first are simply the parents way of having someone to look after their daughter when they couldn't, which was really most of the time, and along the way Maisie finds herself accepting them as her caretakers because they give her what a child at that age really needs love, caring, and most importantly selflessness. They didn't ask to become parents to a child that is not their own, but they couldn't ignore what was happening in front of them to that little girl, it just wasn't right. Maisie develops such a wonderful relationship with both these characters the one with Margo is already there from the beginning because she's been her nanny for a while and she understands her completely, but with Lincoln it took some time for her to get used to him, and I gotta say watching Alexander Sakrsgard being all cute and adorable with that child was the cutest thing ever. Their scenes together really were some of the best in the movie, he comes into this girls life unexpected and slowly becomes a permanent fixture, she finds herself depending on him to always be there for her mainly because the poor girl never experienced what a "normal" 7 year old child's relationship with their parents should be. Like I said the whole movie is seen from Maisie's perspective, and I think it was really nice and different to see how a child that is going through something as awful as a divorce, observes and understands the little things she witnesses, and how they help her act and grow along the way. It's not easy for a child no matter how old they are to go through something like that, and this story shows it, but it also shows that sometimes you find your family in the most unexpected way. You get what you can from the situation you're in and Maisie does exactly that, she is young and some may think not mature enough to understand and perceive the situation she's in, but I think she knows exactly what's going on and she finds her way through it all because of the kindness and caring she is shown by her nanny and a complete stranger.
If you're into contemporary movies then you'll like this, the acting, the setting, and even  the lack of dialogue most of the time really help make this a heartbreakingly cute story. Absolutely Loved it!!
  
And just to prove just how cute Alexander and Onata were, I present  EXHIBIT 1!! Enjoy!

"You could Live a Thousand Lifetimes and not deserve Him...."

The Hunger Games, a ruthless story about survival and humanity set up in a futuristic world where people literally fight to the death for the entertainment of others. However, in this dark sad story there is a beacon of light and this beacon is introduced to us in the form of one of the most caring, cute, sensitive, loving, brave characters ever! Peeta Mellark, a humble baker with a talent for decorating cakes never fails to leave an impact on the reader. His way of thinking (so so selfless!!!) and his efforts to protect the girl he loves are what make him so damn adorable!! From the second his name is chosen and he knows only one person can come out alive he begins to plot and plan how he's gonna ensure Katniss' safety. He knows he has no chance of winning (which is further stressed to him by his own mother!!! what an evil bitch!!) so he accepts his fate and begins to think of ways to stay alive long enough to guarantee Katniss' survival in the game. He comes up with the smart idea of playing on the emotions of the gullible audience of the capitol by publicly announcing that he loves Katniss. (ok so he says he has a crush on her, but come on that boy LOVES HER!!) We can see it in his words and in "Josh Hutcherson's" (who was just perfect as Peeta) eyes when he talks about her!! He's been in love with this girl for a long time and he's about to enter into a game to the death, so he figures what the hell I'll profess my undying love for her on tv and hope she feels the same way. I'm sure he knew Katniss didn't really feel the same way about him, she's a tough shell to crack, but he took the chance and hoped it'll be worth it. And it TOTALLY WAS!! That little confession of his and of course his awesome speech, the night before the games kicked off, about not wanting to be another "piece in their game" and wanting to die as himself and not someone different was such an emotional rush! How could someone appear to be so calm and collected in the face of ultimate death and still manage to be so selfless at the same time. Well that's Peeta for you, a character who's sole purpose was to ensure the survival of our Protagonist but because of his strong sense of emotion and deep level of feeling he managed to become as important to us as the hero of the story. It got to the point where I couldn't imagine the story going on without PEETA! He was so good with words and expressing how he feels that he eventually created a little crack in the "wall" that is Katniss's emotions. Forcing her to become attached to him on some level which ultimately created an unbreakable bond between the two. Their survival and their fates became intertwined together paving the way for what will become a heartbreakingly beautiful story about the true meaning of love and how that love can help us survive even the most dire situations in life.
Now the idea of "love" in the Hunger Games isn't necessarily the "lovey dovey" kind, on the contrary, it's the love of  freedom, family, life. The theme of love is explored by the characters in different ways and takes on a specific meaning for each one. Peeta introduces the Element of love in the story not only to create the so called  "love-triangle" effect, not at all! He uses the element of love as his version of a lifeline to survive the messed up world he lives in. Katniss's love is for her family, she loves her sister so much she volunteered in her place, Gale (the other male character in Katniss's life, he's ok, I'm not a huge fan) uses his love and passion of life in the hope of finding freedom somehow, an escape. So to say The Hunger Games is just a "love story" is  simply wrong. And if you fail to see the bigger picture behind this thought-provoking story then you really shouldn't be reading these books. Now back to why I totally book crushed on Peeta when I was reading the series, the obsession is still going on btw, it never left me I'm just better at *cough cough* controlling it! Peeta moments that had my heart doing cart wheels, where do I start there are so many to pick from, in the first book his speech obviously the night before the games started, when he allied himself with the 'Careers' a.k.a the a-Holes from the top districts to make sure they don't harm Katniss, or when he was injured and dying and he still worried about Katniss' well being. I mean come on!! who's that selfless! PEETA! That's who! and in the end (omg this moment is just soo ahhh I can't even describe it) when it's just him and Katniss left and they think they won but then the rules are changed and only one can live, he immediately drops his weapon (Katniss goes for an arrow) cuz she thinks he might kill her. Seriously Katniss!! Seriously! He asks her to kill him instead, because if she dies he'll have nothing back home, he simply won't be happy. The second book just brings us more and more beautiful Peeta moments and even though he knows on some level that they are pretending to be "in love" he didn't see the harm in taking advantage of the situation to spend as much time as possible with the girl he loves. "I wish I could freeze this moment, right here, right now and Live in it forever." Ahhhhh the Peeta feels!! The list could go on and on about the goodness that is Peeta Mellark. Even when he was "Hijacked Peeta" he was still decent enough to realize that he might cause harm to someone and actually asks them to kill him to ensure he won't hurt anyone!!  He is the purest character in the books and that pureness simply bounces off the pages when you're reading, because it's really difficult to believe that with all the hate, anger, and dreadful things surrounding the place they live in, you can find someone who is decent, hopeful,and sincere, someone who can capture the affections of the people with a few simple honest words and make them believe that there is hope in the darkness, that is the terrible world they live in, and that there is a light  which can help them escape the awful reality of their surroundings. So thank you Peeta Mellark, for being one of the most heart warming charismatic characters out there, and for making us believe in and fall in love with the beauty of a decent, truthful ,compassionate Person for a change. These traits are not easy to come by and Peeta's character (whether it was normal Peeta or Hijacked Peeta)  is definitely the best way to represent them. He's like little rays of sunshine that shine through the window and slowly pull you out of the dark.