Nikyatu Jusu’s 'Nanny' — Film Review
Aisha (Anna Diop) is a captivating protagonist with a quiet force and a mighty presence — an energy instantly recognized at the start of “Nanny” when the camera zooms in on Aisha’s sleeping face (a majestic display of skin tone juxtaposed against a white background); a spider crawls on the left side of her cheek and she wakes up startled.
Aisha, an undocumented Senegalese immigrant, lands a job as a nanny of a wealthy Manhattan couple. While she easily wins the affection of their young daughter Rose (Rose Decker), she becomes a pawn in the couple’s facade of a marriage. Amy (Michelle Monaghan), the mother, is as controlling as the dad (Morgan Spector) is disillusioned and woke. Haunted by the absence of the young son she left behind in Senegal, Aisha hopes her new job will afford her the chance to bring him to the U.S. and share in the life she is piecing together. But as his arrival approaches, a supernatural presence begins to invade both her dreams and her reality.
The line of demarcation between Aisha and Amy is defined early on, but it doesn’t take long for boundaries to be challenged by the latter’s audacity and privilege. It is within this complex space that the impetus of the film becomes clear: both women are sacrificing and surviving under distinguishable circumstances.
Writer-director Nikyatu Jusu’s personal connection to the story comes alive not only in the narrative but also in the visual language. Brilliantly conveyed are the colors, textures, shadows and depth used to set the tone in Aisha’s layered world, which is diametrically opposed to Amy’s. They tell their own story, which contributes to heightening the viewer’s senses.
Just as stunning are the supernatural-horror elements from West African folktales that help guide Aisha into herself: Anansi the Spider, a character associated with skill and wisdom who triumphs over larger and more powerful adversaries; Mami Wata (Mother Water), a water spirit depicted as a mermaid that embodies sexuality, money and fertility. The element of water is perhaps the most symbolic in “Nanny” and is eloquently utilized to sway the plot into two interconnecting thresholds: the present and past. All three play an integral role in moving the film forward.
The one reprieve from Aisha’s ambivalent reality is Malik (Sinqua Walls), the handsome and endearing doorman whose introduction alludes to a hopeful future. The two embark on a picturesque romance worthy of its own feature film (ala ‘Really Love’ by Angel Kristi Williams). Aisha’s viewpoint shifts when she meets Malik’s grandmother Kathleen (Leslie Uggams), a clairvoyant, for the first time. Kathleen offers Aisha a trio of healing teas to choose from (ginger, hibiscus, turmeric) before sensing that something is awry in her life and asks, “How do you use your rage?” “Is it your superpower or your Kryptonite?”
At the heart of “Nanny” is a story about womanhood and parenthood all of which invite introspection from marginalized characters in the lives of women with more money, resources and access. Nikyatu Jusu’s ambient feature debut sheds a vibrant and poignant light on a rarely scene perspective of undocumented immigrants who work in America to support their families back home.
“Nanny is a dark but hopeful love letter for mothers who have been systematically excluded from the American dream.” ~ Nikyatu Jasu
Writer-director Nikyatu Jusu’s short film Suicide By Sunlight, a TFI/Chanel Through Her Lens grant recipient, premiered at Sundance in 2019. Nanny, her feature debut, was selected for the 2019 IFP Project Forum, the 2020 Sundance Directors and Screenwriters Labs and Creative Capital Award, and made the Black List. Jusu is also an assistant professor teaching fiction directing and screenwriting.
Director – screenwriter: Nikyatu Jusu
Producer: Nikkia Moulterie, Daniela Taplin Lundberg
Executive Producer: Ryan Heller, Sumalee Montano, Grace Lay, Rebecca Cammarata, Nikyatu Jusu
Casting Director: Kim Coleman
Assistant Director: Kate Branom
Cinematographer: Rina Yang
Production Designer: Jonathan Guggenheim
Costume Designer: Charlese Antoinette
Post-Production Supervisor: Isabel Henderson
Editor: Robert Mead
Composer: Tanerélle, Bartek Gliniak
Principal Cast: Anna Diop, Michelle Monaghan, Sinqua Walls, Morgan Spector, Rose Decker, Leslie Uggams
