the highlights of mara’s filmography are as follows:

collateral damage, a film starring both of her parents and mara’s debut. she is two years old, and she’s a non-speaking extra, but she’s the cutest damn extra of them all.

lieutenant drive, a crime drama starring arthur. this is her first speaking role at age five; her screen time as a girl made to testify at the trial of her mother’s assault is brief but memorable.

no way out, which features mara as a troubled, abused child. this is her breakout role. her part is maybe a little heavier than a six-year-old should be playing, but the risk pays off tremendously.

staying together, a family sitcom similar to our full house. six-year-old mara joins the cast in its second season as jessie stevens, the plucky youngest daughter of a large suburban family, and her addition is immediately praised for the sense of levity it adds to the show as well as her comedic timing. she stays on for the entirety of the show, another six years, and occasionally contributes her vocals to songs on the series’ soundtrack. this is the show she’s nominated for a golden globe for, but she doesn’t win. if adult mara is ever recognized, it’s for this role.

the wolf pack, a cheap, animated children’s film about a pack of anthropomorphic wolves. mara plays the lead voice role.

plain jane, a somewhat campy musical that’s a loving tribute to the musicals before it like singin’ in the rain and an american in paris. at age eleven, she plays a supporting role and sings. donna also stars in the lead role as mara’s character’s mother.

                ‘ you’re... ’   he raises a pointed finger and circles it, gives the thing a wave. a... waggle, really.  it goes around another few times till it lands in the shape of a thumb that he throws over his the back of his shoulder that’s supposed to be pointing to the just gone q&a but actually leads the eyeline to the fallen dustpan and brush, contents spilled and ready to be caught up again.   

                ‘ you were in there. you were just in there! ’   he tries not to let any giddiness through but even he feels it. he tries to laugh it off.   ‘ neat. that ... that’s neat. ’    neat? what the fuck was that? he drops the thumb and begins nodding now. that’s what a person would do.   ‘ that was really cool, in there. in there. yeah. ’

❛❛    i’m    asking    you    -        why    you    think    it’s    funny    .    ❜❜

      consuming  media  is  his  job,  any  and  all  forms  of  it.  always  watching,  listening,  reading  --  anything  he  can  to  find  the  next  big  thing.  to  find  someone  who’s  willing  to  give  it  all  to  gain  everything  they  want,  or  at  least  what  they  think  they  want.  who  doesn’t  want  adoring  fans  and  more  money  than  one  would  know  what  to  do  with?  

      now  this  one’s  already  under  the  spotlight,  he  recognizes  him  from  something.  an  actor  if  he  remembers  right.  there’s  something  about  him,  though.  he  can’t  pinpoint  it,  just  that  something  about  him  seems  a  little  off.  there’s  a  feeling  that’s  different  from  his  usual  deals,  but  he  puts  that  feeling  aside.  noted,  but  not  the  most  important  thing  to  him  right  now.  his  name  (  whatever  it  may  be,  he  should  really  pay  more  mind  to  the  credits  )  may  already  be  out  there,  but  people  always  want  more.  he  knows  that  from  firsthand  experience.  

                                ❛  oh,  i  know  you!  big  fan.  ❜

from beneath the glow of her bedroom lamp,   he looks like someone else.     claws sheathed,   swimming in the same spell she is,   she could almost mistake him as harmless.     she might,   she’s rarely so careful under the influence,   but it’s far from a priority of hers at the moment.     now,   the only thing she’s all that concerned with is the patterning of her wooden floor and the shapes that lurk there    ;    faces strain against the tiling,   all eyes on her.     they blink,   her heart lurches,   and the only thing that keeps her from reaching into the floor to stop their staring herself is the voice that pulls her back into reality     [     or,   their version of it    ;    the reality they’ve crafted through drugs and spite,   that thrives only between the two of them     ].     mara raises her bleary gaze upward until it meets his.     she needs a pause to process speech,   but once she’s confident enough to start pulling herself together and respond,   she smiles    :    something like what’d she offer a friend,   even if she doesn’t know it.

❝     vaaal...     ❞          it comes out a drawl,   void of much intention,   hanging onto her mouth like it belongs there.     every shift of movement amounts to its own struggle,   and it’s only by some fated miracle that she manages to pull her weight from the ground and onto her own two feet.     she wobbles,   unsure of her footing for just a second,   and then exhales once she’s achieved enough balance to find her way over to her vanity mirror.          ❝     don’t you dare put that on me,     ❞          she laughs as she leans in,   while paying special attention to the sight reflected back to her    :    smeared,   distorted through the lens of hallucinogens and revved up conceit,   but mara deems herself pretty as ever,   even if the red lining her lips could stand a touch-up.     the room spins as she twists herself back around,   her front facing val again.          ❝     you were crazy way before i ever said a word to you.     ——     but for the record,   you make me laugh,   too.     i like you.     ❞

‘   hey,   val,   babe?   ’     he’s  managed  to  turn  her  attention  away  from  the  line  she’s  cutting   (   nothing  short  of  a  miracle!   ),   but  she  doesn’t  look  very  pleased  about  it,   mouth  twisted  into  a  frown.     ‘   can  i  give  you  some  advice?   ’     her  wrist  raises,   flicking  away  the  question  like  a  speck  of  dust:    odds  are  good  he’ll  turn  down  the  offer,   and  she’s  never  been  in  the  business  of  taking  no  for  an  answer.      ‘   i  know  you  think  you’re  above  everybody  else    —    and  for  the  record,   i  think  you  are,   too.   ’     speech  pauses,   briefly  leaving  that  thought  hanging  unfinished  as  she  dips  her  head  downward  for  a  snort.     ‘   jesus,   ’     she  grunts  once  the  white’s  gone,   and  wipes  the  back  of  her  hand  along  her  nose,   looking  back  up  to  find  val’s  glare.     ‘   but  sometimes  you  say  shit,   and  i  just  don’t  get  it.    cut  out  the  dramatics,   quit  trying  to  make  sense  of  your  fucked  up  self.    save  the  tortured  actor  shit  for  another  time,    and  come  finish  off  this  g  with  me.   ’