Film Review: My Week with Maisy
by Karen Pecota

Mika Simmons, United Kingdom, 2024

Mrs. Foster (Joanna Lumley), a self-consumed retiree, is disappointed she must begin chemotherapy and assumes that she will be having treatment in the privacy of her own quiet treatment room. Annoyed at the sight of another chair being brought into her space, Mrs. Foster is even more disheartened when a child comes to sit in the empty chair.

Mrs. Foster is not the first to greet the child. Instead, the child is the one who acknowledges her and introduces herself as Maisy (Ellie-Mae Siame). Mrs. Foster is taken aback by her forward announcement and isn’t interested in continuing a conversation with this child. She relishes being left alone and having her treatment in peace and quiet.

Maisy isn’t having it! Maisy, a precocious, inquisitive, and happy child, wants to know everything about her new chemotherapy treatment roommate. Maisy wants to learn from an old lady, share her dreams with her, and enjoy this new comrade. Mrs. Foster shuts her down from the get-go, but as each treatment day progresses, Maisy lovingly wears Mrs. Foster down to chip away at the hard-core exterior Mrs. Foster has taken years to build up, to the point that each encounter exudes transparency, laughter, and a delightful bond shared in every conversation until one day Maisy misses her appointment.

Maisy moves on, as does Mrs. Foster. Each of them experiences healing. Never knowing how long one will live knowing that sharing love and companionship can last a lifetime, bringing so much joy while living.

Filmmaker Mika Simmons creates a delightful narrative of a backward generational transfer when at death’s door, the elder learns more from the younger in MY WEEK WITH MAISY.