While the concept is interesting enough, it’s the casting of Schwarzenegger tenderly caring for what is essentially his terminally ill daughter that lifts Maggie above the status of an eyebrow-raising curio.

For his part, Arnie is effective – his relationship with Breslin providing Maggie with its… everything. But what we see in the first ten minutes speaks for the next eighty, ever-increasing amounts of makeup our only timer.

Stripped back and washed out at the hands of a debut director and a tiny budget, its runtime manages to confidently yet blandly portray the dissolution of a family unit. Several times.

A slight affair with little room for meandering, Maggie exists as a squarely predictable character piece with some relatively unpredictable central casting.

RATING: 2/5

INFORMATION

CAST: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Abigail Breslin, Joely Richardson

DIRECTOR: Henry Hobbs

WRITER: John Scott

SYNOPSIS: A farmer cares for his daughter as an infectious virus slowly claims her life.