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The landscape for independent films has changed rapidly. On one hand, the opportunity to build a theatrical release has become increasingly difficult, but on the other hand, digital release has given indies a chance to play to a broad national audience at once. Each week, new indie releases will be profiled and because they might not be playing at a theater near you, one highly recommended film available now a click or two away via VOD (whether a new or not quite new release) will be presented for viewing without leaving your computer.

VOD Pick of the Week

What Maisie Knew
Published in 1897, Henry James’ novel What Maisie Knew, a story of divorce, custody battles, fractured families, and step parents told from the child’s point of view, may have caused something of a stir at the time, but the story seems almost commonplace today. This makes the novel ripe for a modern day film adaptation.

Directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel (The Deep End, Bee Season), the story is moved from 19th century London to modern day New York City. The film begins as the marriage between Suzanna (Julianne Moore), an aging rock star, and Beale (Steve Coogan), a prominent art dealer, is coming to an acrimonious end. Their young daughter Maisie seems like an afterthought as the warring parents are more concerned with taking out their bitterness on each other. Maisie spends most of her time hanging around with her nanny Margo (Joanna Vanderham), and while her parents may not be paying much attention to her she sees a lot more than they are aware.

When Suzanna and Beale inevitably divorce, a bitter custody battle ensues that results in a joint custody arrangement. Beale quickly becomes engaged to Margo, prompting Suzanna to hastily marry Lincoln (Alexander Skarsgard), an acquaintance and bartender at an upscale restaurant. Soon, the custody that they fought so hard for becomes a nuisance, resulting in a series of missed drop-offs and pick-ups and more often than not leaving Maisie under the care of either Margo or Lincoln instead of her parents.

While the adult cast is impressive, the success of the movie rests quite simply on the shoulders of Onata Aprile, who plays Maisie. The movie is told through her eyes, meaning that she is in every scene and informs the point of view. Aprile gives a remarkably subtle and insightful performance for a child actor. The performance is a largely passive performance as to a large extent her role is observational. She doesn’t get any big emotional scenes, but she is able to portray the effect that the behavior of the adults around her is having on her at such an impressionable age.

What Maisie Knew is a gently heartbreaking film. It is not a film of big tragedy, but instead a film that shows how a steady stream of small tragedies can add up to have a profound effect. The cast and filmmakers and cast keep the film from ever veering into melodrama but that does not lessen the impact of the film. Henry James’ tale of parental neglect is unfortunately still as relevant today as it was over 100 years ago.

Available at Amazon
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Available at Netflix

New releases for November 29th

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom: From entrepreneurial drug dealer Stringer Bell to murder detective John Luther and now world leader Nelson Mandela, actor Idris Elba continues to show his incredible range. The film chronicles Mandela’s life from coming of age, education, and his 27 years in prison before coming president of South Africa and presiding over the historic reconciliation process after years of apartheid. Naomie Harris plays his just as influential wife, Winnie Mandela.

Oldboy: Oldboy was Korean director Chan-wook Park’s second film in his thematic “revenge trilogy.” Released in the United States in 2005, the film garnered critical artistic praise, but also some controversy because of its violence. The film gets an American remake directed by Spike Lee. Josh Brolin takes over the lead role of a man who finds himself kidnapped and held hostage in solitary confinement for many years without explanation. When he is inexplicably released, he embarks on a mission of vengeance against his unknown captors and finds himself still stuck in a web of conspiracy.

The Punk Singer: As lead singer of the punk band Bikini Kill and dance-punk trio Le Tigre, Kathleen Hanna became one of the leading voices of the Riot Grrrl movement of the 1990s. She was one of the new style of feminist and an outspoken icon before retiring in 2005. The documentary The Punk Singer reveals the reason for the retirement (Lyme disease) as well as exploring her career through archival footage and interviews with Hanna herself as well as contemporaries like Joan Jett and Kim Gordon.