‘Nanny Film Review: Chilling Drama Weaves Haunting Character Study Of A Caregiver
© Courtesy of TheWrap NannyThe wealth of home caregivers — before and during the pandemic — has never been greater. These employees, mostly women of color, are assigned one of the toughest jobs: raising and caring for other people's children.
"Nanny Job" is a challenge in itself, but even more fearful is Nikiat Juice's debut film, The Nanny, when a spirit haunts a young New York nanny as she gets a new job.
A promising girl behind the wheel of the "Nanny" - Aisha (Anna Diop, "Titans"); A Senegalese with a master's degree, he may be too qualified to take his latest job babysitting rich Amy (Michelle Monaghan) and Adam (Morgan Spector, The Gilded Age).
Amy is a beautiful and sophisticated businesswoman who battles her inherent sexism, while Adam is best known for documenting controversy and protests as a photojournalist. They hire Aisha to babysit their equally cherubic and mischievous daughter, Rose (Rose Decker, Easttown Mayor), a notoriously picky eater. Aisha doesn't like Amy's childishness or Morgan's overbearing vigilance, but she does everything in her power to raise enough money to send her son Lamin to the US.
While "The Nanny" has moments of tension and even momentary fears, her main strength lies in character exploration. Like Aisha, Diop is intelligent and compassionate, as well as intelligent and full of anger. Amy and Adam used it every time: they forgot to pay, they added hours at the last minute, they went over the limit. When hallucinations and visions appear - flashbacks or visions from West African folklore - Aisha goes out of her way to protect Rose and take care of her. The fact that her maternal skills and energy were passed on to a child that wasn't hers could be what's haunting her, or it could be something more sinister.
The Babysitter is a fiery but gripping first act, set in an elegant style and often vibrant setting that shows there's more to Aisha than meets the eye. Did something happen in his past? Or perhaps he will face an inevitable obstacle in his future? He is tormented by visions not only of Anansi, the spider that crawls up his cheek at night, but also of Mami Wata, a mermaid and trickster. Do they want to hurt him or help him? "Nanny" is wise when asking all these questions, but she ends up biting off more than she can chew. Despite these visions and characters haunting Aisha, she has little to no interaction with them or with what they are trying to tell her.
But where The Nanny ultimately shines is in happy moments. Although Aisha is persecuted, she is endowed with humanity and a desire to love. He begins an affectionate romance with Amy and her porter Adam, a neighbor named Malik (Chinqua Walls, "The American Soul"), who embraces her generously in a light of cold and unassuming politeness. Amy and Adam. Are these moments enough to save him from what's to come? Scary and terrifying water mirages and drownings and floods? Her life was full of horrors, but she was able to get through it, making Aisha something more than just the stereotypical "last girl".
Unfortunately, The Nanny stumbles and staggers to the finish line, the latest series of events and tragedies with a short break before the closing credits. The tonal coloration was too hasty, ruining much of the strong character that had been built up earlier. The burst of violence is undeniably effective, and Diop climaxes with a force of steel, but the script fails, with little to no resolve left in its aftermath. It would have been better for The Nanny to rely on its ambiguity and myth-making in the final act; movies don't have to be as literal as you might expect. It's also not clear what the movie says about the kind of work Aisha does, or that the worst thing that can happen to someone is a bad employer (probably out there).
But at its core, it's a touching and thoughtful exploration of characters, and recent horror films haven't had that kind of development, leading to the use of the generic term "trauma." Here we observe all aspects of Aisha's life, good and bad, as she finds her center. As a debut feature film, Jusu's work is specific and thoughtful, and while its pace leaves a lot to be desired, it has a clear idea of what it's like to push a person through bad work to the light at the end of the tunnel. Aisha's love - for Lamin, for Rose, for Malik - confronts her with everything terrible, giving The Nanny a warmth that captivates the film long after the credits.
The Babysitter opens in theaters in the United States on November 23 and will be available on Prime Video on December 16.
