Film Review: Nanny McPhee
Starring: Emma Thompson, Colin Firth, Celia Imrie, Imelda Staunton, Angela Lansbury
Cert: U
Released: Out now

Cedric Brown (Firth) is a single father who has been encumbered by a number of problems since his wife died. No less than suffering the actual grief of her death but more over being left with the sole responsibility of raising their seven very feisty, out of control and perfectly horribly behaved children.

On top of that the family estate is under threat as his late wife's Great Aunt Adelaide (Landsbury) insists that Cedric find a new bride and mother for the children before the month is out. If he fails then she will withdraw the monthly allowance she gives them which would leave them penniless, him in prison and the children would get sent to the orphanage. Being a workaholic undertaker may be an honest and consistent trade but it does not pay enough to keep them in the lifestyle that they have become accustomed to.

To save the family unit he must find the children a mother but with them being so out of control, getting a nanny to stay long enough to try to tame them is hard enough let alone snagging a woman brave enough to mother them.

Cue Nanny McPhee (Thompson), a comically unattractive, mysterious, witch-like woman. She tells them that she will teach them five lessons and stay only for as long as they need for. Not whether they actually want her to or not.

After the initial loggerheads she soon manages to win over the children and resolve everyone's problems with some tough love and a touch of mystical powers emanating from a wondrous cane.

This is an ideal role for Emma Thompson who is great as the supernatural super-nanny. Beautifully acted - completely understated rather than an over-the-top pantomime performance that it could have been. It's especially refreshing to see her unafraid of playing unattractive protagonist (bulbous nose, uni-eyebrow, hairy mole and crooked teeth) who you can genuinely empathise with from the off set.

Colin Firth is unchallenged as the stiff, emotionally inhibited father but it is a role he has mastered, the script is solid enough for him to get away with it (again) and it does mean it is one less character to try to get inside.

The supporting cast is superb collection of British talent who add so much more to the story. Celia Imrie shows her more evil side as the money-grabbing widow who becomes a potential suitor for Cedric. Imelda Staunton, plays the family cook who runs her kitchen like a military canteen. Angela Landsbury returns to the big screen as the family's benefactor Great Aunt Adelaide - portraying an eccentric, half-blind and half-insane woman, who disapproves of the whole family set up. Kelly Macdonald plays Evangeline, fulfilling the climactic love interest of the film. Derek Jacobi and Patrick Barlow feature as Firth's camp working colleagues at the funeral directors.

It was Thompson herself who wrote the screenplay and has crafted a well-rounded screenplay with great pace, convincingly witty dialogue and a fine array of odd-ball characters. There are some very funny set pieces to this film interspersed with slapstick and some excellent throwaway one liners.

Nanny McPhee is a fun family film that obviously owes much to the influences of The Sound of Music and Mary Poppins but updated and delivered with a darker twist a la Lemony Snicket. It is a non-patronising film that is accessible by parents and children alike.