‘Nanny’ doesn’t clean up
ASHLEY WELLING
Staff Writer
The New York Times’ bestselling book “The Nanny Diaries,” written by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus, has moved its way up and onto the big screen.
Published in 2002, the book became an almost instant hit, and it is easy to see why. The book’s main character, Nanny, is a young bright college student trying to juggle life, love and an overbearing job in the Big Apple. She is an easily relatable character for any college student, as she must learn to cope with a demanding boss and less-than-fair pay.
The film of the book, also called “The Nanny Diaries,” doesn’t quite measure up. Scarlett Johannson (“The Prestige,” “Scoop”) plays the Nanny character in the movie, which was released Aug. 24. Instead of having the name of Nanny, however, Johannson plays a character named Annie Braddock — a 21 year-old college graduate trying to find her way in New York City.
Amidst interviews for new jobs, Annie finds herself questioning her path in life, as she sees herself drifting away from her aspirations of becoming an anthropologist.
Unfortunately for her, Braddock’s path crosses with Mrs. X, played by Laura Linney (“Breach,” “Man of the Year”). Linney does an excellent job of showing the demanding, ignorant, and devouring nature of the women of the Upper East Side of Manhattan, while also managing to highlight their humanity.
Braddock soon finds, after this chance encounter, that her priorities in life are about to be completely turned around. Taking care of Mrs. and Mr. X’s son, Grayer, turns out to be more than young Braddock bargained for, and it begins affecting her relationships with her friends, family and new love interest, played by Chris Evans (“Fantastic Four,” “Cellular”). Mr. X is played by Paul Giamatti (“Sideways,” “Lady in the Water”).
Nicholas Art (“Syriana”) plays Grayer, the young boy assigned to the perhaps unfortunate new nanny, and he has a captivating way of stealing the hearts of the audience. Art brings his character to life and manages to break away from the typical “spoiled rich kid” persona like so many before him. Like Linney, he brings out his character’s humanity and forces the audience to care about the future and wellbeing of the young, “privileged” Grayer.
Grayer and Annie share a few heartfelt scenes in the film, which are, in turn, successful in inspiring emotion. The viewer cannot help but feel the helplessness in both of these characters as they struggle to understand the world in which they live.
It is apparent throughout the movie that the film’s tries to capture the relationships that children have with their mother figures. It does an excellent job of highlighting how these relationships are carried out differently among varying social classes.
Through these relationships, the movie connects with its audience. It has everything from a struggling, underpaid and lonely college student to a mother trying to save her marriage and dignity. This mother must also deal with her husband working long hours to support her lifestyle, while he is at the same time trying to detach himself from the relationship.
The underlying love story that takes place between Annie and the “Harvard Hottie” (Evans) takes a backseat to everything else in this film, as it does not seem to play an important role in Annie’s new life, or in the movie as a whole. The book does a much better job of highlighting this new love’s importance in her life and certainly does not make it as typical or predictable as the movie manages to do. The “Harvard Hottie” is good for a few laughs, and, not to mention, a piece of eye candy for the ladies, but he is just a backdrop in the film overall.
Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini, the writers and directors of “The Nanny Diaries,” are known for their often interesting mix of fiction and reality. This is certainly evident in this film. The movie starts off a little shaky at the beginning, when Annie is seen floating above Central Park with an umbrella in tow, but this fluff is thankfully toned down a little toward the end of the movie.
Overall, “The Nanny Diaries” did not show off the nanny character’s caring yet feisty personality as well as the book does. However, the movie was held above water by the actors who were chosen to play the roles, which made it an enjoyable viewing experience overall. The audience really did get to watch “life from the top, as seen from the bottom.”
09-06-2007
