Nanny

Longe de desmerecer o tema sobre opressão racista, especialmente em cima de mulheres negras, mais ainda quando esta mulher é uma empregada doméstica. Mas o filme já se mostra degastado, mostrando o cotidiano ali em suas mais belas minúcias, ela cuidando da filha da patroa, problemas quanto as horas extras, juntando dinheiro com certo sofrimento para trazer o filho. E é isso. Ou seja, temos aqui um legítimo feijão com arroz com um tema importante, narrado de forma banal, sem uma grande história, tudo ocorrendo da forma que tem de ocorrer, sem inspiração alguma. Mesmo as atuações estão certinhas e enquadradas, mas nada viceral, até porque o roteiro opta por ser cru, sem nada elevado mesmo, o que eu achei até uma decisão acertada, não se torna um dramalhão, ao mesmo tempo que não torna a obra memorável. Eu diria apenas que é um bom passatempo, e por tocar em temas sensíveis como racismo e relações de trabalho, vale a conferida, ainda que despretenciosa.

'Nanny' suffers from the ever-present problem of not knowing what it wants to be. As an immigration drama, the conflict is clear — an African nanny that wants to bring his son from Senegal to live with her — but the need to tackle another genre distracts you from it; as a horror film, the supernatural elements feel somewhat random. Yes, African folklore plays a part in it, but its relationship with the protagonist is never clear beyond the obvious. First-time director Nikyatu Jusu also touches on how white people exoticize black culture — as in 'Get Out — and that, for me, is the most appealing part of the movie, but the theme is quickly forgotten. Fortunately, Anna Diop, as the nanny, makes you care about Aisha and her struggle. If only the script had been better.

Nanny is a slow-burning drama/thriller that uses a fairly slow pace that seeks in every way possible to be sinister and ominous to build to a climax that you can see coming miles before the script addresses it, and that, at that point, the film seems to forget where it was going in the first instance because the ending doesn't feel at all resolving and you have to wonder, given the tragedy, what the **** was the plot making the character experience? Loss? Preparation to deal with grief? Fear? Honestly, I was left a little confused, or maybe my understanding of its narrative came across very differently to me.

This film is all over the place. Lacking character development and finished plot lines.

When it comes to making a movie (especially one in the suspense, thriller or horror genre), there’s a big difference between “nuanced” and “obscure.” And, when it comes to writer-director Nikyatu Jusu’s debut feature, it’s an offering that more often embodies the latter than the former. This tale of a Senegalese immigrant nanny caring for the young daughter of an upscale New York couple follows her pursuit of starting a new life in America, a venture intruded upon by an array of strange, sporadic, inexplicable, underdeveloped hallucinations, nightmares and other paranormal experiences in what amounts to one of the most unsuspenseful thrillers I’ve ever screened. Indeed, this film’s attempt to elevate what’s supposed to be a horror offering to a purported higher level of artistry and sophistication largely falls flat due to glacial pacing, disjointed and extraneous story threads, overly subdued and unexplained imagery, and a largely predictable, underwhelming payoff that just doesn’t merit the time and attention it requires to make sense of it all. While the picture features some imaginative cinematography and editing, along with a capable lead performance by Anna Diop, it’s nevertheless sorely lacking when it comes to a compelling narrative and cogently written script. Despite its Independent Spirit Award nomination for the Someone To Watch Award and its National Board of Review designation as one of 2022’s Top 10 Independent Films, “Nanny” fails on countless fronts. But I suppose that shouldn’t come as any surprise these days given the unremarkable state of this once-venerated film genre. Horror films just ain’t what they used to be, and this one again proves just that.