In this dark and witty fable, Thompson portrays a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children. The children, led by the oldest boy Simon, have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies and are certain that they will have no trouble with this one. But as Nanny McPhee takes control, they begin to notice that their vile behavior now leads swiftly and magically to rather startling consequences.
Release Date: January 27, 2006 Studio: Universal Pictures Director: Kirk Jones
Screenwriter: Emma Thompson Starring: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Angela Lansbury, Kelly Macdonald, Thomas Sangster, Sir Derek Jacobi Genre: Comedy, Family MPAA Rating: PG (for mild thematic elements, some rude humor and brief language) Official Website: NannyMcPhee.com
MPAA: Rated PG for mild thematic elements, some rude humor and brief language. Runtime: 97 min. For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG. Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
SYNOPSIS
Emma Thompson, whose first screenplay won the 1995 Oscar® for "Sense and Sensibility," returns to screenwriting with "Nanny McPhee," a motion picture adaptation of the "Nurse Matilda" books by Christianna Brand. Thompson, the only person to have won Oscars® for both acting and writing, also plays the title role in Nanny McPhee, opposite Colin Firth, Kelly Macdonald and-in her first role for the big screen in two decades-Angela Lansbury.
In this dark and witty fable, Thompson portrays a person of unsettling appearance and magical powers who enters the household of the recently widowed Mr. Brown (Firth) and attempts to tame his seven exceedingly ill-behaved children. The children, led by the oldest boy Simon ("Love Actually"'s Thomas Sangster), have managed to drive away 17 previous nannies and are certain that they will have no trouble with this one. But as Nanny McPhee takes control, they begin to notice that their vile behavior now leads swiftly and magically to rather startling consequences.
Her influence also extends to the family's deeper problems, including Mr. Brown's sudden and seemingly inexplicable attempts to find a new wife; an announcement by the domineering Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury) that she intends to take one of the children away; and the sad and secret longings of their scullery maid, Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald). As the children's behavior begins to change, Nanny McPhee's arresting face and frame appear to change as well, creating even more questions about this mysterious stranger whom the children and their father have come to love.
"Nanny McPhee" is directed by Kirk Jones (writer/director of "Waking Ned Devine"). The producers are Lindsay Doran (in her third collaboration with Thompson, following "Sense and Sensibility" and "Dead Again") and Working Title's Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner.
One of the underlying themes of Nanny 911, Super Nanny and other reality TV shows that touch on parenting is that the children’s misbehavior is almost always rooted in the neglect of parental responsibility. The kids’ behavior changes in the end because the parents have needed to learn the primary lesson. — Continued
Nanny McPhee is ugly.
So is the behavior of the seven Brown children.
The screenplay, written by Emma Thompson herself, is decked with little grains of wisdom, mainly spoken from behind that snaggle tooth. However, the most poignant undercurrent is the way in which the characters undergo their own "Extreme Makeovers."
—Continued
Everyone in this story is transformed by each other, and the entire world is transformed by
NANNY McPHEE.
One of the great themes in this fairy tale is Love. Nanny McPhee is a romantic story of love that cannot be. Yet it is able to be. It is about love that should be, but isn’t, but then is again. —Continued
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