I almost didn't watch this movie because I had a sense it was going to be some sort of silly comedy about nannies. But, I like Scarlett Johansson and Laura Linney, so I thought I'd give it a try for maybe 15 minutes. I'm glad I did. The movie wasn't at all what I expected, and I enjoyed it.
There are really 2 themes to this film. First, the story of a nanny (Scarlett Johansson) who is capable of greater things, but has a bit of a crisis of confidence. Second, the story of a dissolving marriage (Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti). And while the story centers around the young boy to whom Johansson is nanny, it is not really about the boy. It's an interesting way to tell the 2 main stories, and, even beyond that, the way the director tells the stories (particularly early in the film) is a bit off-beat (in a good way).
Johansson is very good here (sans blonde hair). But even more brilliant is Laura Linney...great performance, and stunningly beautiful on occasion. Chris Evans, with whom I was not familiar, was quite good as a potential love interest (a part which could have been played up a bit). If you want a bad guy, Paul Giamatti was terribly unlikable as the wandering, emotionally sadistic husband; not a role many would like to take.
So what's to criticize? Not much except that I don't think they handled the role of the young boy very well. OR, they intentionally downplayed the boy's role so as to focus on the stories of the 2 adult women. I felt totally neutral about the boy. Neither a monster nor adorable. I saw him as an always-there plot device. Maybe Paul Giamatti's character was too mean and nasty.
However, very good film, and probably not what quite a few people were expecting.
There are really 2 themes to this film. First, the story of a nanny (Scarlett Johansson) who is capable of greater things, but has a bit of a crisis of confidence. Second, the story of a dissolving marriage (Laura Linney and Paul Giamatti). And while the story centers around the young boy to whom Johansson is nanny, it is not really about the boy. It's an interesting way to tell the 2 main stories, and, even beyond that, the way the director tells the stories (particularly early in the film) is a bit off-beat (in a good way).
Johansson is very good here (sans blonde hair). But even more brilliant is Laura Linney...great performance, and stunningly beautiful on occasion. Chris Evans, with whom I was not familiar, was quite good as a potential love interest (a part which could have been played up a bit). If you want a bad guy, Paul Giamatti was terribly unlikable as the wandering, emotionally sadistic husband; not a role many would like to take.
So what's to criticize? Not much except that I don't think they handled the role of the young boy very well. OR, they intentionally downplayed the boy's role so as to focus on the stories of the 2 adult women. I felt totally neutral about the boy. Neither a monster nor adorable. I saw him as an always-there plot device. Maybe Paul Giamatti's character was too mean and nasty.
However, very good film, and probably not what quite a few people were expecting.