29.12.08

christmas movie 3: nanny mcphee


This one isn't necessarily a Christmas movie, but I did get it as a gift this year and plan on putting it in my stack of regulars. I watched Nanny McPhee a year or so ago and instantly fell in love with it's sense of style, color and whimsicality. Not to mention that there are a few Love Actually cast members in it as well.

Of course any movie that involves a magical nanny may fall under comparison against the wonderful Mary Poppins, and even I'll admit that I was skeptical when I first sat down to watch it. That's not really a fair deal to compare the two though, since they are different stories and totally different nannies. In fact Nanny McPhee isn't attractive at all. She doesn't sing and she doesn't smile a whole lot. But somehow she's a lovable character and sees each one of her lessons through to the end until it's time for her to depart and move on, in typical, English, nanny fashion.


My favorite part of this movie is at the very end when there is a wonderful snow scene. The colors of course is what gets me, me and my monochrome/cool and warm tone inclinations. It's absolutely breath taking. Through the entire movie the colors are harsh and saturated, where when the snow scene arrives everything falls to a soft neutral between shades of gray, pinks and soft blues and yellows. It's a lovely contrast from the theme of the movie, delicious all the same. Amazing when I realize how much color shapes my tastes in movies.


I won't admit how sappy I get with these types of movies because in the words of Mary Poppins "practically perfect people never permit to sentiment to muddle their thinking." Who am I fooling? I cry almost every time. They're just such wonderful stories.