Funeral director Mr. Brown (Colin Firth) is a widower who has his hands full with seven very unruly and clever children. With their antics, they have successfully scared away 17 nannies. Mrs. Blatherwick (Imelda Staunton), who used to serve food in the army, holds down the kitchen and refuses to let the children frolic in her realm. Evangeline (Kelly Macdonald) is a shy maid who has a crush on her boss but he doesn't seem to notice. Lack of attention is the source of the difficulties between Mr. Brown and his eldest son Simon (Thomas Sangster); the boy is convinced that his father no longer has time nor is willing to listen to his children since their mother died. Mr. Brown sorely misses his wife and holds conversations with her empty red velvet chair.
Mysteriously, Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) appears at the door. She is an independent operator. This strange woman dressed in black and carrying a crooked walking stick has a bulbous nose, several prominent facial warts, and a snaggletooth. She casually announces that she will be able to teach the children five lessons. The first is to go to bed when you are told. Although Simon and his brothers and sisters are convinced that they can send her fleeing, they are sadly mistaken. Nanny McPhee has said to their father: "When you need me but don’t want me, I will stay but when you want me and don't need me, I will go."
This wonder woman is like a Zen master with very few words and a quiet center that mystifies the children who are used to having their way and creating alternate worlds of chaos. The nanny appears suddenly in rooms and then quietly says "I did knock." As the children's feelings for her change, her ugly appearance blooms into beauty.
The family has only been able to stay together thanks to the wealth of Great Aunt Adelaide (Angela Lansbury), an imperious woman who has stated that unless Mr. Brown marries within a month, her financial support will end. This sends the funeral director into a state of panic. The only person he can come up with to marry is Mrs. Quickly (Celia Imrie), a self-absorbed woman whose husband died recently. Of course, she is a perfectly dreadful woman in every way. Mr. Brown finds himself in nasty dilemma that almost undoes him.
This light-hearted family film is directed by Kirk Jones who brought his devilish élan to the sprightly comedy Waking Ned Devine. Emma Thompson has done a marvelous job fashioning a delightful and macabre screenplay that is loosely based on Christiana Brand's Nurse Matilda children's books of the 1960s. The ensemble performances of the kids and the rest of the cast are superb: everyone seems to be having a jolly ol' time. And be sure to savor the fairy tale magic of the snow falling from the sky in August.
Nanny McPhee is dedicated, according to the closing credits, to the truly naughty and their children. This mysterious caretaker gives the children exactly what they need and her five lessons, including the spiritual practice of listening, are right on target. A further point slips into our consciousness: the naughtiness of so-called unruly kids can be a cover for their essential creativity. Once parents tap into that resource, they will be surprised by all the marvels that unfold.
Special DVD features include an audio commentary with director Kirk Jones and the children, another commentary with actor Emma Thompson and producer Lindsay Doran, shorts on casting the children and making over Nanny McPhee, a gag reel, and information on "How Nanny McPhee Came to Be."
