THE NANNY DIARIES

DVD Rental

Having read (and loved!) the book, not to mention how much I enjoy Scarlett Johansson, I was excited to hear that a film version was being made of The Nanny Diaries. Imagine my disappointment in its negative critical reviews! With very limited funds these days for leisure activities, I have to choose my cinema viewings carefully so as not to feel I’ve wasted my time or money, so Nanny was relegated to a DVD viewing (for which I always use free rental coupons). With this sort of build-up, I expected very little from the movie, hoping simply to enjoy the film’s treatment of its source material. And I got just what I hoped.

The differences in the film and the book are limited and mostly insignificant to the story itself. The film did not have the zip that I noticed while reading the story, and some of the casting of support players seemed less than inspired to me, but in the end I did enjoy the film. Aside from its constant surrealistic nods to Mary Poppins, the movie is quite enjoyable and sustainable for its running time. I enjoyed revisiting the story, and I was impressed with both Johansson and Laura Linney, who played the unfathomable Mrs. X. I was thankful, above all, that the film retained the great heart of the novel, as well as the satisfying resolution for the Nanny character. And with such little expectation at the start, this is more than enough for me to say I enjoyed the film.

image from Rotten Tomatoes

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