Nanny McPhee

There is a darkness in a lot of British children’s books, from Roald Dahl to Harry Potter, and it gives both fear and relief: The happy endings arrive via many close calls. Look at “Nanny McPhee,” released in 2006, named for a governess who appears to be closer to Mrs. Doubtfire than Mary Poppins. Roger Ebert described in his review, “Garbed in a black dress that looks stuffed with flour sacks, she has warts on her face, fire in her eyes and a walking stick that sends off sparks when she slams it on the cobblestones, which is a lot.”

Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) is the 18^th governess employed in the Brown household after the death of his wife left Cedric Brown (Colin Firth) to raise seven children on his own. These children, who look to have been born about eight years of one another, are a reckless bunch who want to drive away nannies, and we see several of them escaping the house, one of them screaming, “They’ve eaten the baby!”

Cedric starts getting mysterious messages: “What you need is Nanny McPhee.” They are followed by Nanny herself, a tough and threatening presence who seems to yield magical powers and quickly puts the children in shape. She has a set of rules for them to learn, and a frown that scares them, and soon all is well (or maybe uneasy), even at bedtime in the dormitory room the kids all share.

Ebert noted, “The Browns inhabit a big old country house with countless architectural grotesqueries and lots of gardens and staircases; only in fiction could this be the residence of a man facing financial ruin.” Cedric Brown is the local funeral director, in debt and counting on a legacy from his rich Great Aunt Adelaide, played by Angela Lansbury, who has made one condition: He must marry in 30 days.

Ebert mentioned, “There is an obvious candidate for his heart: Evangeline (Kelly MacDonald), the scullery maid, who is beloved by the children and also by Cedric, although he's such a doofus he doesn't realize it. Instead, Cedric seems doomed to marry Mrs. Quickly (Celia Imrie), who is well-named, since like Shakespeare's Mistress Quickly, she seems to be one step removed from a tart, possibly in the wrong direction.”

As plans for the marriage move ahead, Nanny McPhee lovingly improves the behavior of the Brown children, and here’s a funny thing: Every time she succeeds in getting one of her rules enforced, a wart disappears from her face. She also appears to be losing weight. By the end of the movie, she will look like the Emma Thompson we know and love, and not a moment too soon.

Will Cedric marry Mrs. Quickly? Or will he realize Evangeline is his true love? Will the children turn into model kids? Will it snow in August? All of these questions are answered in due time, in a movie that accepts weirdness as a social value.

Ebert admitted, “Watching the movie, I reflected that the difference between American and British children in the movies is that the American kids tend to run their families and the British kids (Harry Potter excepted) tend to require, and deserve, many hard lessons in life. It is also refreshing that British kids do not succeed because they find out they are good at sports (Quidditch excepted).” In American movies, the kids end in victory, throwing their fists into the air and shouting, “yes!” In British movies, they end as well-behaved miniature adults who have come to see the truth of all the wisdom told to them.

All of this is connected somehow with the decision that Cedric Brown makes to admit Nanny McPhee into his house in the first place. Ebert described, “If a formidable and terrifying female, dressed in black and banging a lethal walking stick, should arrive at an American door all covered with warts, the residents would push the panic button on their security systems.” Only in this realm (based on the Nurse Matilda books by Christianna Brand) would such a person be welcomed.

Ebert asked, “Will kids like the movie? I suspect they will. Kids like to see other kids learning the rules even if they don't much want to learn them themselves. Here is the Brown family, teetering on the brink of poverty and yet living in a house rich American kids could only envy.” Lots of staircases, lots of hiding places, lots of gardens, and even a bit kitchen with a red-faced cook, Mrs. Blatherwick, played by Imelda Staunton, in charge, who throws things at them but always seems to have a few chickens in a pot in case anyone should want sandwiches.

I saw this movie in the theaters with my sister and a few cousins. We loved this movie, and I think everyone else who watches this will too. Check it out. If you’re not familiar with the books, I think you can watch this fine, because I have never heard of them either before this film came out. Just see the movie and enjoy yourselves.

Next week, we will end “Emma Thompson Month” with the Nanny McPhee sequel.