THE NANNY DIARIES

Movie Analysis

Thesis Statement• The movie, ‘The Nanny Diaries’, has

shown that being a nanny is not a joke, being attached to a kid who once was a stranger finding hard to let go. It tells parents to take the time to care for and know their children. Furthermore, it also shows that money doesn’t bring happiness or love. Best of all, perhaps, it shows that children are our most precious resource.

• As a Filipino, having a nanny or being one is quite common and with this movie it widely reflects the hardships of a nanny, it’s quite injustice and how awful it is to see a child not being raised by its own parents. And frankly, we see these things happen which is an issue to be changed.

Thesis Statement• The movie has several positive messages

like the insights we have mentioned. It encourages viewers to love and support the people around them, especially family members. That we might become better people after seeing this movie.

• As Filipinos, we somehow have experienced the presence of a nanny in our family and we often refer to them as helpers. And for the countless things they have done to help us we greatly appreciate and admire them.

Plot Summary

Annie Braddock (who narrates the story), is a New Jersey woman who has graduated college as a finance major, with a minor in

anthropology. Judy, Annie’s mother, wants Annie to go into finance, but Annie’s first love is anthropology. Her first job interview

question in Manhattan’s finance district is, “Who is Annie Braddock?” Annie finds that she has no idea who she is and,

panicked, runs out of the interview.

Annie sits on a Central Park bench pondering the question posed to her. Suddenly, she springs to action to save a young boy from being run down by a mechanical scooter. The boy’s mother, a high-class

woman from the Upper East Side, profusely thanks Annie. She invites Annie to be her boy’s new nanny and gives Annie her card.

She later calls the boy’s mother Mrs. X. Suddenly, Annie is inundated by cards from other desperate mothers in the park.

Plot SummaryAnnie accepts Mrs. X’s offer and narrates her experiences tending to

Mrs. X’s boy, Grayer. Annie treats her story as if it were an anthropological study. For instance, she calls the woman and her

husband Mr. and Mrs. X and thinks of the characters as a life-sized diorama exhibit in a museum.

Life with the incredibly privileged X's is not what she thought it would be, and her life is complicated further when her attachment to Grayer which grows even more the more time they spend which

other, and then she falls for "Harvard Hottie" who lives in the building. She was also lying to her own mother about her job

although supported by her frank best friend, Lynette. Annie begins to notice that not only is Grayer being neglected, but so is Mrs. X,

with Mr. X committing subtly obvious adultery and not treating her like a proper wife. Her mother later on finds out about her real job

and told Annie to call her when this ‘phase’ of her life is over.

Plot Summary

She decided to confront Mrs. X but later postponed after the X’s planned a get-away vacation and that she thought it might save the relationship of Mr. & Mrs. X. Things went the opposite of what she expected to happen on their vacation.

Things went worse when she gets fired, and was not paid with the right amount she was intended. In her rage, she went to the X’s residence, she looked for and found the 'nanny cam' in the

X's house and records her feelings toward the X's. Mrs. X brings the tape to the school meeting for the East side wives. Thinking that the tape will show Annie and her so-called ‘nanny disaster’, she requested the coordinator to play it for everyone to see. All

other parents in the room hear as Annie reveals the real relationship between the X's.

Plot Summary

A few months later when Annie decides to pursue her love for anthropology, she sees "Harvard Hottie",

whose real name is Hayden. Hayden hands her a letter from Mrs. X. Written in the letter is an apology and

news about how Mrs. X left Mr. X, Grayer's improvement, the better relationship of Mrs. X and

Grayer, and how Annie changed her life. Later on Annie is shown in a relationship with Hayden which

leads to a happier ending for all.

Analysis• The Nanny Diaries is brilliantly done. It

has the right balance of comedy, pathos, wit, drama, and charm. The actors inhabit their characters perfectly, making them seem like real people you could meet on the street. It had the proper cinematography, direction and the right props and costume for each character and scene. It was impressively realistic, setting it on the Upper East Side, Manhattan, New York. It almost seemed like based on a true story film.

Conclusion• The Nanny Diaries is a clever, funny, heart-breaking, ultimately inspiring movie about parents, children, marriage, romance, love, and life. The movie contains plenty of foul language, however, including one “f” word and a few strong profanities. Also, the movie has a negative view of most men and most rich people and mature themes, though not salaciously so. We would suggest PG-13 audience.