In a society where half of all marriages statistically end in divorce, it's the children of those failed unions that often get lost in the shuffle.  The premise of co-directors Scott McGehee and David Siegel's film, What Maisie Knew deals with a young girl trapped in the wake of her parents' bitter divorce.  While the film could easily become bleak and depressing, the trailer, at least, seems hopeful, buoyed by the effortless and carefree performance of Onata Aprile in the titular role.  It helps that What Maisie Knew sports a supporting cast of Julianne Moore, Alexander Skarsgard, Steve Coogan and Joanna Vanderham, to name a few, but your hearts will be stolen by Aprile.  Hit the jump to check out the trailer.Read up on the synopsis for What Maisie Knew, adapted from the Henry James' novel:

Set mostly in England, the novel is related from the perspective of Maisie, a preadolescent whose parents were divorced when she was six years old and who spends six months of the year with each parent. The only emotional constant in Maisie’s life is Mrs. Wix, a motherly old governess. Maisie’s parents marry other partners, but neither marriage succeeds. Her new stepparents are attracted to each other, divorce Maisie’s parents, and marry. Maisie knows intuitively that she cannot depend on the adults in her life, and she chooses to live with Mrs. Wix, on whose unconditional love she can depend. [Amazon]

Here's the trailer for What Maisie Knew (via Slash Film):

what-maisie-knew-book-cover