NANNY (REVIEW)

Dir. Nikyatu Jusu

Reviewer. Martyn Wakefield

What opens up with a tense connection of family, friends and their new nanny, turns into a melodrama about a woman's adjustment migrating from Senegal to America.

NANNY is simply another reminder of the struggles and the impact of cultural changes that come with immigration. Something the genre has tackled better in the likes of HIS HOUSE.

There's plenty of striking imagery about Nikyatu Jusu's film which really shows the cultural struggles in a way that doesn't play victim instead gives a darkness to Anna Diop's character that many western films about immigration tend to oversee. At times she's wrong, others gripped so far in fear that her actions are like a blur of lines. This is more about the horrors of adapting to the unknown as opposed to the horrors of classism and racism that are often tainted with such stories.

Despite some of the film's darker moments, there's more drama than actual horror held with this story that never realised its full potential. Yet despite its missed opportunity to become a horror staple, there's a heartfelt connection to Aisha and her struggles that make this one to watch.