The Nanny Diaries
I just finished watching The Nanny Diaries, the movie based on the book by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Klaus, and starring Scarlett Johansson .
While I thought the book was delightful, and enjoyed the movie as much for the story as for the luxury homes in Manhattan where it all took place, I’m never entirely satisfied with book-to-movie translations, because when I read I’m immersed in a story, but when I’m watching something, I’m merely observing it.
That being said, Laura Linney as Mrs. X was fabulous, seemingly cold, but with vulnerability beneath the icy veneer, and Paul Giamatti as the mostly-absent Mr. X was simply perfect, and Donna Murphy was believable as Annie’s mother, even if her New Jersey accent was horribly inconsistent. Young Nicholas Art, as Greyer, the child in the film, was also very good - very much a natural kid.
Where the film excelled (other than at marketing CitiGroup, whose iconic red umbrella was used throughout the film) was in capturing the spirit of life in New York, where small kids really DO know whether something is on the East or West side, and how much there are distinct sub-cultures within it, changing from block to block.
If you haven’t read the book, see the movie first or you might be disappointed in the condensation of the story, but you will not be disappointed in the way they presented the spirit of the novel, or the city in which it all takes place.
Movie on DVD, Review | Melissa | Friday: 14 December 2007
By Jenn, Friday: 14 December 2007 @ 10:38 am
Remember, the red umbrella is on the cover of the original release of the book. Whether or not the book was written and published with that in mind or if that was simply a convenient tie, I don’t know.
I read the book when it was published and saw the movie in theatres with a girlfriend. We enjoyed it, but I have started re-reading the book so I can justify my few times in the movie I thought “Wait, was that how this went?”
I thought the movie was faithful to the spirit of the book, if not following it entirely. I also prefer the book version as a general rule and have had to learn to go into a movie based on a book with the mindset that I will take it as it is rather than try to compare the two. It doesn’t always work, but it’s the only way I’ve made it through the Harry Potter books without losing my little mind.