‘Nanny McPhee’ a magical delight
This film is absolutely magical. Filled with vivid costume and set designs to frame an endearing cast of characters, “Nanny McPhee” is not just another “Mary Poppins.” There are no extensive musical numbers and a subtle sense of eeriness persists throughout most of the scenes. These elements give the most notable contribution to make this film a sweet children’s story that is much more mature and dramatic than many others.
Colin Firth (“Bridget Jones’s Diary”) stars as a widowed father of seven children approaching the end of his rope. No more nannies are available to help take care of his offspring, since each one of them has fled in terror to escape the children’s’ relentless mischief. Although all the children are perfect images of youthful beauty, their inherent naughtiness makes them an uncontrollable force of destruction. How can they become disciplined, you ask? Use magic to punish and subordinate them.
Academy Award winner Emma Thompson (“Sense and Sensibility”) portrays the title role who begins the taming process of the children after her surprising and mysterious arrival. With the stomping of her creaky cane, Nanny McPhee teaches the children a variety of lessons about good behavior and about themselves. The magical forces in the film are not overbearing or excessively sugarcoated because Nanny McPhee helps the children learn and develop on their own, without using spells or potions to dominate them. All of the main characters go through the predictable and rudimentary developments of a children’s story. But they all remain rather compelling as they slowly draw you in with their emotional subtlety.
With a screenplay written masterfully by Thompson and directed by Kirk Jones (“Waking Ned Devine”), this film is seriously enjoyable for people of every age. (I know that is a painfully cliché statement, but you must believe me when I say it with utmost sincerity). The seven children, spearheaded by the surprisingly memorable Thomas Sangster (“Love Actually”), all do their best to keep the film alive with humor and surprises. But Thompson’s performance remains the strongest as she goes through her own development from a ragged, sullen witch (complete with snaggle-tooth and warts) into something more lovely. Genuine emotion manages to stay afloat in this film and there are only a few moments where things turn cheesy or conventional. The witty and simple humor, however, easily sails along and is due in large part to the colorful supporting cast. Kelly Macdonald (“Gosford Park”) brings some refreshing normality as the softhearted scullery maid and Imelda Staunton (“Vera Drake”) is completely riotous as the zealous cook. It is the regal Angela Lansbury (“Anastasia”) however, who steals the show as the children’s cantankerous, bossy Great Aunt Adelaide.
This film is a likeable reminder that PG ratings can be fun for everyone and we can leave the theater completely satisfied without seeing any blatant violence, sex or language. “Nanny McPhee” proves to be an enveloping story for all audiences, even though we know how the story will end. The journey to the conclusion is what makes it so uplifting.
Casey T. Allen is a critic for the Utah Statesman. Comments can be sent to caseyal@cc.usu.edu.