Amazon Prime exclusive Nanny looks terrifying in a new promo highlighting a mostly mild week for streaming. This film is going to surprise viewers.
In Nikyatu Jusu’s directorial debut, Nanny follows Anna Diop as Aisha, an undocumented immigrant from Senegal who has settled in New York and is working as a caretaker with hopes of one day bringing her son to the US. However, a concealed truth threatens the American dream Aisha had in mind.
If you still need to check out the trailer, here it is.
What did you expect?
Nanny hits all the right notes
Nanny has thus far done well with critics. Sitting at a strong 89 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, Nanny premiered last January at the Sundance Film Festival, where the film’s positive reception led to Amazon’s acquisition of distribution rights in the Spring of 2022.
Critics have praised the construct in which Nanny is framed: an immigrant mother whose heart is in one place but must live in another entirely without her son and alone in the US. Working as a caretaker for a wealthy white family in New York, Nanny’s Aisha is surrounded by characters that appear willing to sacrifice her well-being and mental health for their benefit.
The Hollywood Reporter called Nanny “a contemplative, thematically rich story that deftly explores the emotional and spiritual costs of leaving your homeland behind for an uncertain future in a strange land. Diop is elegant and understated as Aisha, a loving mother with quiet strength, commanding presence and an unbreakable bond to Senegal and the conditions that made her. It’s a perfect marriage of director and star, with Jusu providing a worthy showcase for Diop’s talents as a leading lady.”
Nanny gets a solid projected audience score from us
While the film saw a limited release in theaters last month and has netted an audience score of just 59 percent to date, we believe it will do better once released to a broader audience. We’re projecting a score of 78 or higher once the film is available to US audiences via Amazon Prime.
Still, the positive feedback from verified audiences at this point has been in line with critics.
“Honestly one of the better movies i’ve seen in a minute, and one of the best shot. The visual and audio storytelling was so intentionally jarring, the acting and chemistry was palpable, and the story itself was heartbreaking and intriguing. 10s across the board I must say. Nikyatu has definitely made her mark, and her leading lady Anna Diop showed she does indeed have the range to go from superhero to an everyday hero,” wrote one reviewer wrote on the site.
It’s hard to say why the film sits so low with audiences when scores are aggregated, but it wouldn’t be the first time a movie like this was tanked before it’s release.
Earlier this year, The Woman King was review bombed before it was even released in the US. The film hit theaters with an IMDB score of just 4.2, only to finish the year with a 6.7 and 94 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The Woman King also went on to net a 99 percent rating with audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.
Ultimately, it’s hard to determine whether Nanny will break the pre-release trends that The Woman King managed, but we anticipate a strong reception for the film, regardless.
If the trailers for Nanny indicate what’s to come this week, Aisha is destined to face dire straits on her path to peace and reunification with her son in Senegal. But will the Big Apple break her first?
Nikyatu Jusu’s Sundance-celebrated horror flick hits Amazon Prime this weekend.