No matter what you do, NannyThis will make you slow down.
This is a twisted and beautiful horror story about Aisha, a West-African immigrant who is also a nanny. She is hired by Amy and Adam (Michelle Monaghan, Morgan Spector), and their relationship is awkward enough that it makes you squirm in the seat. Rose Decker plays Rose, their mischievous little girl. Rose hopes to make enough money to send her son Lamine (Jahleel Kazara) to the U.S.A. However, Aisha is plagued by vivid visions that shake her mind and disrupt her ‘American Dream.
With its stunning imagery and textured shots, it’s easy to get lost in the cinematic world director/producer Nikyatu Jusu expertly crafts in Nanny. As you get lost in the dreamy landscape, deeper layers and allegories will emerge. Do not drown in wonder. Let’s explore the melancholic, luminous and shocking ending of this movie to discover what it all means.
Let’s discuss Mami Wata & Anansi The Spider.
Mami Wata (left) and Anansi, the Spider (right) make a splash in NannyAisha is guided by these hidden figures on her journey. Mami Wata, an African-African water spirit from West Africa, is a guide and ancestral force in the African diaspora. She is known for her ability to create fortunes as well as destroy them. Her presence in the film serves to champion the sacred nature of water, making a continuous appearance in Aisha’s dreams and fantasies.
Anansi, a clever trickster, is depicted throughout African folktales. His stories often warn you to stay ahead and never let the current take over. The spiritual figures, who blur the lines between reality and fantasy, make it their mission communicate with Aisha via various forms. This is to help her multitask her heavy work load while also focusing on her spirituality. These two cunning, yet whimsical, forces steal the show and quickly sweep Aisha into a stream psychological displacement.
What does the rain and water imagery signify?
As Aisha begins to spend more time within her client’s posh New York home, it’s evident that the residence is a space of discomfort, not fortitude.
Aisha may be noticed by viewers changing her wardrobe from work to personal time. She loves bright yellows, and oranges when out with friends in Harlem. In her sprawling Upper West Side apartment, however, she chooses to wear dull colors and shades of blue. Aisha’s clothes can convey either belonging and joy, exile or oppression. Amy and Adam profit from Aisha’s labor through volatile passive aggressive attacks on her culture and financial negligence, as well as sexual harassment. Aisha, who is highly driven, gradually loses her grasp on reality and falls into multiple states.
Rainwater becomes recurring imagery in the film, hitting in light showers, threatening flooding, and hallucinations of drowning, all of which chip away at Aisha’s mental state. These dreams serve as an introduction from Mami Wata, Anansi for Aisha so that she can get her head back in game.
As the nightmarish visions begin to leak into her waking life, it becomes increasingly difficult for the protagonist — and us — to determine what’s real. Aisha is completely taken under the current by the hauntings caused by the soft drips. The dramatic break ends abruptly when Aisha, in her hallucinatory state, uses a knife to cut Rose’s throat. Rose shivers in the bathtub. Aisha manages to break the spell but does not hurt Rose.
The physical warnings are later revealed by Aisha’s love interest’s grandmother, Kathleen (Leslie Uggams), who specializes in supernatural spirits. Aisha is forced to make decisions in the face delinquent parental figures. But it’s clear that Mami Wata has suppressed patience for long enough, forcing Aisha to finally listen to her ancestral guides once and for all in the gruesome final act.
So, what’s the real horror in the movie?
Aisha finally manages to raise enough money to bring Lamine to America. The tragic death of the boy causes their reunion to be thwarted. Lamine’s drowning is one of the last warnings from Mami Wata to Aisha, the wake-up call for the Nanny protagonist to finally get her head above the water and assess her position within society. She must face the ultimate tragedy of her complacency after being constantly antagonized by her employers, with little pushback from Aisha.
Aisha is shocked by this shocking revelation. In the end, viewers get a glimpse into her future with a melancholic — but not dispirited — montage that foreshadows remnants of hope for days to come. This weightless end feels thematically distinct from Lamine’s horror. The dichotomous events suggest that Lamine’s death is not where the film’s horror finally resides. Instead, the perfectly timed inciting events will lead to a deeper and more allegorous theme.
What is it? NannyWhat does’s ending signify?
It’s easy to pass off the asinine duo of Amy and Adam as an annoying obstacle in Aisha’s journey. Their presence is much more problematic than they appear. Their dysfunction is a problem that bleeds into Aisha’s work with Rose. Taking into account the separate horrors that the couple commits upon Aisha’s personhood while exploiting her lack of socioeconomic status in the American labor sphere, these two become the movie’s modern monsters. This is the villain. NotMami Wata, Anansi as it might seem at first glance
Amy and Adam represent the systemic oppressions faced by immigrant women in the workplace and social realms while they try to navigate the promised American life. Jusu shows how mind and body horrors can result from oppression and neglect by capitalist society, faux-feminism and violent patriarchy.
Even with all the supernatural aspects that make it possible NannyJusu’s suspenseful pop makes us ponder human beings and how they oppress others as horrifically as the ghoulish boogeyman. Aisha’s intersectionality as a Senegalese immigrant and single Black mother situates her in the hot seat of American societal neglect.
Nanny’s ending shines a pessimistic — and absolutely necessary — narrative to combat the unrealistic depiction of American excellence conveyed to foreigners. It is clear that the “American Dream” applies only to a very small community and not just to any doe-eyed dreamer, as many might think. The horrors of exploitation and exclusivity, which are both very real and undervalued, should be seen in this film as well.
The buoyant paranoia of the suspensefulNannyThis explanation will make it easy to swim to shore, even though you may be drowning in sorrow.
NannyNow in cinemas, and Prime Video worldwide streaming Dec. 16
