DVD
REVIEW: THE NANNY DIARIES
12/02/07
SYNOPSIS:
Annie is a young girl from a
working-class neighborhood who suddenly finds herself
working as a nanny for a wealthy family in Manhattan ’s
Upper East Side . Between catering to the every whim of her
employers and their precocious son and falling in love with
their gorgeous neighbor, Annie tries to figure out what she
wants to do with her life.
REVIEW:
The translation of a book into
a movie is one of the biggest challenges for all
professionals in the movie making industry. This is the case
of writer and director Shari Springer Berman and Robert
Pulcini in making the movie, The Nanny Diaries. Even though
the pressure was tough, they summarized the book (under the
same name), with a term and concept that we can all relate
to, a job. The job of a nanny is exploited through the eyes
of Annie Braddock (Scarlett Johansson) in this picaresque
humorous drama.
While this movie clearly states the desire of producer
Richard N. Gladstein (Finding Neverland, The Cider House
Rules) and associate Gary Binkow to make their own film
somewhat different from the book, the movie is quite
comprehensive and does not loses the essence of the book.
The character of Annie, who in the book is named Nanny, is a
recent graduate as opposed to in the book she is a student.
Her socio-economic status is also drastically different from
the X’s family, her employer. These details were done on
purpose to depict her transformation from a disoriented
unstable girl to an assertive focused young woman. It is
details like this which makes the film quite interesting. It
is in this transformation of Annie that we see one of the
most hilarious scenes as Annie tries to establish rapport
with Grayer X (Nicholas Reesee), a five year old who has his
life completely mapped out by his controlling, insecured and
unloving mother, Mrs. X (Laura Linnet) and the hansome
“Harvard Hottie” (Chris Evans) whom she finds his socio
economic status as an obstacle in dating.
The film is able to grasp the true essence of the book,
which makes the movie more of a drama than comedy type of
film. There seemed to be chemistry and bonding between
Scarlet Johansson and Nicholas Reesee which made the acting
seemed real and their love and need for each other transfers
to the viewer. The casting was right on the money as the
satire of the high socio-economic families with their eyes
set on everything except the most essential, showing love
for their children and taking on the role of a parent was
well exploited. Finally, Annie’s journey into self discovery
is well developed through out.
What I loved the most about the film is the symbolism used
to depict Annie’s search for freedom from all the pressures
and problems as she glides through the New York skyline
holding on to an umbrella sort of Mary Poppins. Another
enjoyable aspect is the beautiful New York city background
and the lyrics of the song, “I am a native New Yorker”.
Overall if you liked drama, loved the book you are going to
want to view this one of a kind picaresque “experiment” in
the East side Manhattan.
VIDEO:
Anamorphic Widescreen
AUDIO:
Dolby
Digital 5.1 Surround - English,
Subtitles - English, Spanish, English SDH
BONUS FEATURES:
Life at the Top As Seen From the
Bottom: The Making of The Nanny Diaries
Confessions from the Original Nannies:
The Authors of the Bestselling Book
Bloopers Reel
RATING BREAK DOWN:
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VIDEO |
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AUDIO |
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