Movie Review: NANNY

By ABBIE BERNSTEIN / Staff Writer

Posted: November 23rd, 2022 / 01:38 AM

NANNY movie poster | ©2022 Amazon Studios

Rating: R
Stars: Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, Rose Decker, Leslie Uggams, Olamide Candide-Johnson, Jahleel Kamara
Writer: Nikyatu Jusu
Director: Nikyatu Jusu
Distributor: Amazon Studios
Release Date: November 23, 2022 (theatrical); December 16, 2022 (Prime Video)

In NANNY, Anna Diop exquisitely plays the title role of Aisha, a Senegalese immigrant in New York City.

All Aisha wants out of life is to be able to bring her little boy, Lamine (Jahleel Kamara), to live with her in the U.S. To this end, she accepts a job as a nanny with a wealthy Manhattan couple, Amy (Michelle Monaghan) and Adam (Morgan Spector).

To start with, it seems like a decent situation. It’s not live-in, though overnight stays are sometimes required; the couple’s young daughter, Rose (Rose Decker), is sweet, playful, and loves Aisha’s cooking.

Additionally, Aisha has a strong circle of fellow immigrant friends, a budding romance, and a strong connection with her new beau’s spiritual-minded grandmother (Leslie Uggams).

But Aisha is plagued by nightmares and visions. She dreams of spiders, malevolent mermaids, and water. Aisha and the grandmother discuss the possibility that the spider represents the pan-African trickster figure Anansi, and that the mermaid is Mama Wata, a dangerous and mercurial spirit.

Meanwhile, at work, Amy is displaying high-strung personality aspects, while Adam acknowledges there’s a problem, but is less than helpful. At the same time, Aisha’s otherworldly encounters become more pronounced.

Diop is terrific, and NANNY comes most alive when Aisha is most engaged with her community. Director/writer Nikyatu Jusu has a great feel for the textures of small moments of life, as well as for serious appreciation between women, such as in the scenes between Aisha and the grandmother.

While this is not exactly new cinematic territory, the micro- (and eventually not-so-micro) aggressions of Amy and Adam toward Aisha play as realistic. NANNY might have been more potent as a straight drama about Aisha’s work/life balance.

It’s almost always intriguing to see international folklore, and filmmaker Jusu comes up with powerful visuals to illustrate the concepts of Anansi and Mama Wawa. But what Jusu does not do here is narratively integrate them into Aisha’s life. There is not much trickery or dangerous seduction going on. Given Aisha’s goals, Amy and Adam would have to be a lot worse than they are for her not to take the job.

NANNY also has an unfortunate meta aspect. Many viewers will be able to figure out very early on where all of this is going, which is not the intent. It seems like either much more or much less should have been made of Aisha’s interactions with the uncanny. It’s too easy for the viewers to solve their puzzle, while Aisha barely gets to interact with the clues.

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Well-acted but mythically messy

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Article: Movie Review: NANNY

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