The Nanny Diaries
Directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini. Screenplay: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini, based on the novel by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus. Cinematography: Terry Stacey. Film editing: Robert Pulcini. Production design: Mark Ricker. Music: Mark Suozzo. Producer: Richard N. Gladstein. With: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Linney, Nicholas Reese Art, Paul Giamatti, Alicia Keys, Chris Evans, Donna Murphy, Nathan Corddry, Cady Huffman, Brande Roderick, Nina Garbiras, Judith Roberts, Alison Wright, Heather Simms, Sakina Jaffrey, Nicola Barber, Brendan Griffin, Eli Harris, Ken Henry, Charlie Hewson, John Henry Cox, Kaitlin Hopkins, Bobby Lundon, Rosa Nino, Stephen O’Reilly, Aaron Staton. USA. 103 min. 2007.
The ubiquitous Scarlett Johansson plays Annie the Nanny, a recent college grad who accepts the job of caring for a wealthy couple’s kid so she can buy enough time to discover her inner needs and true goals in life. Needless to say, the little lad is a terror at first but a doe-eyed charmer soon after, and the parents are miserable and obnoxious enough to teach our heroine that money just can’t buy happiness.
The movie’s messages are corny, especially if you like Woody Allen’s observation that money can’t buy everything but it’s better than having your health. The filmmaking is inventive and the acting is excellent, though, starting with Johansson’s on-target portrayal of the nanny, Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti as her employers, Alicia Keys as her best friend, and Nicholas Art as Grayer, the unassuming little boy whose pretentious moniker says all too much about his parents’ personalities.
This is the first feature by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini since “American Splendor,” their marvelous account of underground-comix superstar Harvey Pekar, which starred Giamatti when he was thin. (Did he gain all that weight specifically for his “Nanny Diaries” role, or…?) This movie takes a more straightforward approach to its all-American subject, but the Berman-Pulcini artistic signature comes through in a number of subtly stylized touches, including brief fantasy sequences and the device (borrowed from the “Nanny Diaries” novel) of identifying the poor little rich couple only as Mr. and Mrs. X, not for “privacy” reasons but to preserve a tell-all aura that accords with the picture’s title. Aside from the schmaltziness of the story’s too-long climax, this is more good fun from one of the most interesting creative teams in American movies today. – David Sterritt
