Julianne Moore stars in "What Maisie Knew," a film based on the novel of the same name by Henry James.

Moore plays Susanna, a rockstar more focused on her music and personal pleasures than her young daughter. The story follows her volatile relationship and divorce from husband Beale (played by Steve Coogan). Like Susanna, Beale is too obsessed with himself and his career as an art dealer to truly connect with their daughter. In one scene he offers to take the six-year-old out for an espresso.

Moore and Coogan are entirely convincing as cosmopolitan bohemians, residing in incredible apartments, indulging in excess and regarding Maisie as their play-thing, when convenient for them. Moore debuts her vocal abilities in the film, as the lead singer of her band.

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Like all true badass rockers, Susanna parties hard, awake with her band and groupies at all hours, drunk and swearing, chain-smoking like a chimney. This is one of the grittier, raw characters I've ever seen her play.

Because of Susanna's excesses, Beale is able to win joint custody of Maisie in court. When he leaves furious Susanna at her apartment, he takes only Maisie and the espresso machine. This begins the girl's life of being dragged from one self-involved parent to the other. 

Two glimmers of light in the story are Margo, Maisie's nanny (played by Joanna Vanderham) and Lincoln, a groupie from Susanna's band. Following the divorce, Beale asks Margo to continue nannying Maisie at his new city apartment. They eventually end up intimately involved and then married. As soon as Susanna gets wind of this betrayal, she marries Lincoln. [Editorial note: this information is in the trailer, so no need for a spoiler alert!]

While at first these much younger step-parents seem unsavory given the emotional divorce, they end up being god sends for Maisie. Each is genuinely interested in her well-being and happiness, which is refreshing. In one adorable scene, Maisie brings Lincoln into school for show and tell. 

The true star of the film is Onata Aprile who plays six-year-old Maisie. Her wide-eyed, angelic faced ability to simply watch and observe her parents and the frantic city around her is captivating.

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Much of Aprile's performance is in moments where she says nothing. The scene of her riding her bike on the cement patio of her father's apartment was a favorite.

The cinematography in this film is fantastic, incorporating truly unique shots, and desirable backdrops. Every scene is thoughtfully framed and captured.

There are also many brilliantly lovely scenes featuring the city of New York, itself. If you're missing NYC, this movie is for you.

In the beginning of "What Maisie Knew" the scenes feel slow and the tempo languid, which must be intentional, for things are changing so quickly for the young protagonist. 

Maisie is adorable in her impeccably chosen wardrobe. Maisie's outfits were the perfect image of a child of an art dealer and rockstar mom. In many scenes she wore headbands of every variety, in others, cat ears, cowgirl boots, rain boots, a plethora of colors and patterns, all hung on her tiny physique. Her blue bathing suit and pleated robe in the final beach scenes were perfection. The costume choices help underscore that Maisie is a little girl with a lot of freedom. 

Throughout the film, the amount of freedom thrown at Maisie can be scary.

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Scenes of her playing on balconies were unnerving. The night her mother completely forgot about her was deeply unsettling. It is in this scene we see Maisie cry for the only time in the film.

Despite the emotional roller coaster that undeniably comes with this storyline, the film is uplifting and dream-like. While I sat waiting for a tragedy to unfold at many twists, everything turns out ok and Maisie remains buoyant and playful. 

When Susanna and Beale each become distracted by their own selfish endeavors, Margo and Lincoln take things into their own hands, which lends for an unsuspected plot twist and location shift. When Susanna shows up at the end on her tour bus, attempting to reassert her motherhood, she arrives with a life-size stuffed pony and a guitar for Maisie, saying, "I'm sorry baby, I'm so sorry." Which is really the only way any defunct parent should ever come back. Fortunately for little Maisie, she has the last word in this film.

"What Maisie Knew" is directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel. Presented by Millennium Entertainment, the film is rated R with a running time of 98 minutes. It is currently playing in theaters across the US.

Watch the film trailer below:

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Reach staff reporter Ashley Riegle by email. Follow her on Twitter here.