What Maisie Knew

Divorce can be an ugly thing, especially for a child caught in the middle. In What Maisie Knew, one young girl navigates her parents’ bitter custody battle with innocence and charm. This contemporary version of Henry James’ classic novel highlights the toll that divorce and neglect can take on a child—and the life-affirming grace that a child can bring to a parent.

Six-year-old Maisie (Onata Aprile) is caught between a rock and a hard place. Neither her father, aging rock star Beale (Steve Coogan), nor her mother, contemporary art dealer Susanna (Julianne Moore), have ever cared about her well-being. Their custody battle is just one more fight for superiority in a divorce that has become a clash of wills. As Beale and Susanna raise the stakes for their daughter, Maisie must find a way to coexist or risk losing a parent. Lauded as giving “the most remarkable performance ever seen by a child this age,” Maisie shows that there’s light in even the darkest of situations.

Written for the screen by Nancy Doyle and Carroll Cartwright, and directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, What Maisie Knew will see a limited theatrical release in New York  and Los Angeles on May 3, 2013 and May 17, 2013 respectively. This Millennium Films drama also stars Alexander Skarsgard and Joanna Vanderham. Rated R for some language.

 

Frances Ha

Growing old is getting old in Frances Ha, an indie comedy about a New York girl trying to find her feet. Frances (Greta Gerwig) lives her life moment-to-moment. She works for a dance company but isn’t much of a dancer; she resides in New York but doesn’t really have a place of her own. She yearns for so much more than she already has—and yet she manages to remain lighthearted and upbeat. What’s the use of having dreams if you can’t stop and smell the flowers once in a while?

Told in a series of black-and-white vignettes, Frances Ha is a portrait of a young woman searching for meaning in a large and confusing world. Ambition, failure, redemption—Frances is willing to follow her dreams even as her opportunities dwindle. Because if she doesn’t make it, sometimes the journey is more important than the destination.

Written by Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig and directed by Noah Baumbach, Frances Ha will see a limited theatrical release in LA/NY on May 17, 2013. This IFC Films comedy also stars Mickey Sumner, Adam Driver, Michael Zegen, and Patrick Heusinger. Rated R for some sexual content and brief drug use.

The Silence

Based upon a novel by Jan Costen Wagner, The Silence tells the story of a serial killer’s effect on the local community. Twenty-three years ago, a young girl named Pia was brutally raped and murdered, her body abandoned in a wheat field. The case remained unsolved, and over the years it became all-but-forgotten—until another young girl named Sinikka is found missing on the anniversary of Pia’s death, her bicycle left in the same spot. Now it is up to Krischan (Burghart Klaussner), the detective in the Pia murder, to reopen the case and solve these parallel crimes before the killer strikes again.

While the investigation continues, Sinikka’s parents are left in an agonizing state of uncertainty. Is their daughter still alive? And if so, what unspeakable acts have been perpetrated against her? Sinikka’s disappearance has reopened old wounds for Pia’s parents as well. As time runs out, everyone fears that they might have to relive the nightmare that happened all those years ago.

Written and directed by Baran bo Odar, The Silence will have a limited theatrical release on March 8, 2013. This German-language Music Box Films crime thriller also stars Ulrich Thomsen, Wotan Wilke Mohring, Katrin Sass, and Sebastian Blomberg.

Last Passenger

Public transportation just got a whole lot more dangerous. In Last Passenger, Lewis Schaler (Dougray Scott) has caught the last train home from London with his son and is looking forward to relaxing after a hard day’s work. An overworked doctor and devoted single dad, Schaler’s life is consumed with taking care of his son and his practice. Soon he strikes up a conversation with a beautiful and flirtatious stranger (Kara Tointon), and he decides that he might find the time to take care of himself as well.

But all is not well. Little do the passengers know, an angry psychopath has taken control of the train and is bent on crashing it and killing everyone aboard. With the brakes sabotaged and the guards mysteriously gone, it is up to Schaler and a small band of passengers to stop the psychopath and save the train. The body count rises as the locomotive plows through train stations, cars, and everything else in its path. Will Schaler be able to interrupt the psychopath’s plans in time to lead the passengers to safety?

Written and directed by Omid Nooshin, The Last Passenger will see a limited theatrical release on August 13, 2013. This Future Films/2B Pictures/Pathe International/NDF International action thriller also stars Lindsay Duncan, Iddo Goldberg, David Schofield, and Joshua Kaynama.