I don't know where the directors (Scott McGehee and David Siegel) discovered Miss Aprile, or how they elicited her performance but, my God, she knocks it out the court. Over and over.

Soft-centred and bland though it is as a version of [Henry] James, the McGehee-Siegel What Maisie Knew is worth seeing for the performances.

Scott McGehee and David Siegel's adaptation commendably preserves the book's child perspective even if it doesn't quite match the characteristically dark shades of the author's moral fare.

With phenomenal acting across the board, tender directing and a gem in little Onata Aprile, this is a film worthy of respect that, like its lead character, should be appreciated and cherished.