posted
Saw this today, mostly because I'm an Emma Thompson/Colin Firth fan.
I have never read the "Nurse Mathilda" books which the film is based on...so I cannot comment on how faithful an adaptation it is.
Colin Firth plays Mr. Brown, a man who owns an enormous, garishly painted, rundown mansion. He has a cook, a maid, and a job at a funeral parlor.
He also has seven children to support and is recently widowed.
Apparently the only thing that allows him to keep the house and his children is a monthly payment from his hawknosed aunt-in-law...played by Angela Lansbury wearing an enormous amount of makeup.
He needs a nanny to look after his children...who have gone through 17 nannies in the past year.
To put it frankly, they're out-of-control hellions.
A mysterious voice tells him to seek out Nanny Mcphee...who soon materializes on his doorstep. She's played by Emma Thompson, under an even more enormous amount of makeup...and a lot of padding. At least initially.
A very strange woman, she has a way of teaching children with her cane.
(No, not like that!)
She has magic powers. And while she doesn't sing songs or take the children on fantastical adventures...she does manage to teach them the virtue of having good manners through very colorful means.
Each time the children learn their lesson...her looks change. From grotesque to...well, more like Emma Thompson actually looks.
All in all this was an enjoyable escapist film. It doesn't try to be very realistic. Everything is played very broadly...with the exception of Nanny McPhee herself, who is a rather subtle, quiet sort. Emma Thompson is the best part of the film...other than the young actor who portrays the oldest Brown boy. He managed by acting with his eyes to make me feel sympathy for him even at his most bratty. One realizes he's acting out on his grief over losing a parent and being distanced from another.
The special effects are kept to a minimum.
Other than the climax (in which a magical snowstorm occurs in August) there are no true "eye candy" set pieces.
Two plot twists I saw coming a mile away...but the film managed to be charming and entertaining enough that I didn't mind.
The running gag about Nanny McPhee's penchant for turning up without warning became a highlight of the film.
posted
No songs? No fantastical adventures? Mary Poppins is going to rise from her grave with that kind of movie.
Posts: 530 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
Hee! Yeah. In some ways this is the opposite of the sort of "magical nanny" story that P.L. Travers wrote and Disney immortalized.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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posted
Wow, I was a little put off by the commercials, although the depictions of the magic were intriguing. But this sounds good. I may have to check it out.
Posts: 1522 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
Hmmm. Apparently a new collection of the "Nurse Mathilda" books has been published, in order to tie in with the film. I'll check them out.
Posts: 6689 | Registered: Jan 2005
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