NANNY McPHEE RETURNS

This latest installment in the misadventures of the doughy, warty, spectacularly stern titular governess is every bit as wonderful as the first film.

I will fully admit to being skeptical when I sat down for this film. I absolutely loved Nanny McPhee, and feared any attempt to capture that kind of lightning-in-a-bottle magic, whimsy and heart a second time would undoubtedly fail... and I really didn’t want anyone or anything tarnishing my fond memories. I am thrilled to report that all of my fears were unfounded, and this latest installment in the misadventures of the doughy, warty, spectacularly stern titular governess is every bit as wonderful as the first film.

Emma Thompson reprises her role as Nanny McPhee, a somewhat gruesome-looking woman with a long snaggletooth and an even longer legacy. As we learn in this new story, which isn’t so much a sequel as another chapter in her life, magical Nanny McPhee has been wielding her powerful walking stick and teaching unruly children valuable life lessons for nearly a century, if not more. This time around, the action is set during WWII, and our haggard heroine is dispatched by the cosmos to the rural, mud-filled, middle-of-nowhere farm of Isabel Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal, cranking up her hug-ability factor exponentially). Isabel is a harried but warm and loving mother, whose husband (Ewan McGregor) is off fighting the war and whose three children – Norman (Asa Butterfield), Megsie (Lil Woods) and Vincent (Oscar Steer) – are suddenly presented with a pair of familial interlopers: wealthy city cousins Cyril (Eros Vlahos) and Celia (Rosie Taylor-Ritson).

As the kids bicker and fight and wreak havoc, Isabel tries to stave off the desperate pleas of her shifty brother-in-law, Phil (Rhys Ifans, in another terrifically unique and delicious turn), who wants her to sign away her rights to the homestead so that he can sell it and collect a pile of cash. For him, the issue is a tad urgent – he’s got a pair of wickedly overly cheerful hitwomen (Sinead Matthews, Katy Brand) out to make sure their boss collects on a long-overdue gambling debt.

Enter Nanny McPhee who, with one of her trademark “hmms” and accompanied by a mischievous blackbird, assesses the situation, declares herself sent from the army and promptly begins the sometimes arduous, sometimes hilarious and sometimes poignant process of setting the household straight.

Everything about this movie worked, from start to finish. Thompson once again penned the screenplay, and infused it with as much (if not more) of the winning elements that made Nanny McPhee’s big-screen debut such a delight. The story is heartfelt and charming, sharp and clever, and filled with so many brilliant little emotional touchstones that I’m pretty sure I spent more time than not with tears in my eyes and a giant lump in my throat as I watched. Even a moment as fleeting as one blink-and-you-miss-it exchange towards the end of the film, that subtly and efficiently links this story to the first, packs a tremendous heartstring-pulling punch.

The cast is stellar, all-around. The child actors are all lovely and their performances nicely nuanced, with none of them painting their alter egos with broad strokes or basic colors. Little Eros Vlahos, especially, is quite the brave and talented young man – his Cyril starts out as a class-A jerk in every respect, and yet his gradual shift in character is not only believable, but completely endearing. In addition to the roster of impressive grown-ups already mentioned, the film boasts key supporting turns by Maggie Smith (as a hugely forgetful but sweet shop owner) and Ralph Fiennes (as a steely military commander). Watching them all play together onscreen – because, really, that element of fun shines through quite clearly throughout – was a treat.

Though it’s a family film – and one with its fair share of poo references and dancing barnyard animals – there’s a sophistication to the storytelling and execution that’s woefully missing in so many of the genre’s other offerings, and credit goes both to Thompson and director Susanna White for refusing to dumb-down or cheapen any of it.

Like Nanny McPhee, their integrity, resolve and faith earned my respect, touched my heart and, in my opinion, makes their work an absolute must-see.