Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang

“I am going to explain to you the way I work. When you need me but do not want me… then I must stay. When you want me but no longer need me… then I have to go.” The well-known phrase was uttered by Nanny McPhee (Emma Thompson) during her first outing and gets of course repeated in the follow-up movie, ‘Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang’. Based on the character from the Nurse Matilda children’s book series by Christianna Brand and adapted from a screenplay by Emma Thompson, the second Nanny adventure is a magical treat for children and adults alike!

This time round, the story is set during WW2 and concerns Mrs. Green (Maggie Gyllenhaal), who lives on a farm with her three children who constantly fight and quarrel with each other. With husband Rory (Ewan McGregor) away at war and her slimy brother-in-law Phil (Rhys Ifans) hell-bent on buying Rory’s half of the property, Mrs. Green’s situation is made worse when her posh niece and nephew are being sent to the farm from London for an unlimited stay. From now on, she has to cope with five children at loggerheads with each other. Add to that the increasingly odd behaviour of her employer Mrs. Docherty (Maggie Smith) and the village warden’s warnings that bombs could fall out of the sky any moment, it’s little wonder that poor Mrs. Green is at her wits end. High time for the magical Nanny to appear and get some order into everyone’s life!

Directed by Susannah White, the film boast bona-fide performances from all the cast and delivers the right level of magic and trickery without suffocating neither plot nor characters. Emma Thompson is, once again, superb as the mysterious Nanny who first appears with a hideous physique and turns more and more attractive as the children become less and less unruly – all with the aid of a little wizardry. You’ll believe that pigs can fly!