This is perhaps one of the silliest and nonsensical movies I have ever seen. Although Tara Erickson (Julia) and Annika Foster (Olivia) do fantastic jobs in their respective roles as a caring mother who has had to temporarily change her work hours and a nanny who wants to poison the children against their mother, it is not a great movie.
"The Twisted Nanny" lacks any credibility because certain aspects of the movie do not make sense. I enjoyed it and the two main actresses are talented, but the movie could have been better.
The movie is especially repetitive. The same things seem to happen over and over again - The mother is tired, the children act distant towards her and Julia suspects that there is something wrong with the nanny. The same information is presented over and over again. It is as if you are seeing the same scenes with slightly different dialogue.
The beginning of the movie is similar to many other Lifetime movies such as "The Sitter," "A Stranger with My Kids" and "Nanny Cam" whereby the mother arrives home to find that the nanny has cleaned in an impressive manner.
1. Unless there is some aspect of the law that I have not quite grasped, there was never anything to preclude the mother from asking the nanny to leave. At any point, Julia could have excluded Olivia from her home. She was fully entitled to not have Olivia anywhere near her children.
2. Common sense would dictate that Julia should have introduced Jessica and Blaine to Olivia before-hand. It would have been prudent for them to meet at least once before coming to work for the family. Sometimes, it is the little details which can make a significant difference and make the movie more realistic. A scene could have been included in which Julia sits down with Olivia and going over what is expected of her on a daily basis. Most people would not leave their children with a person whom they have only just met.
3. Why do Jessica and Blaine share a room? The house seems sufficiently big for each of the children to have a room of their own.
4. At one point in the movie, a woman from the agency that Olivia purports to be from visits the house. Subsequently, no one from the agency asks any questions as to the whereabouts of this woman. Even a five year old would think to question the last few places this person frequented. Peripheral characters in Lifetime movies often make an appearance and then are treated as if they never existed.
5. Julia contacts the police because she is concerned about what is going on in her home. What does she expect the police to do? If she is that suspicious, she could have installed a web cam or just inform Olivia that she never wants to see her again. Yes, I concede that this is a Lifetime movie and certain things have to happen for the plot to exist. It was, however, within the realm of possibility for Julia to ask Olivia to leave her home.
6. When Julia contacts the agency by phone, this does not seem to accomplish much. Should she not have conducted robust enquiries before she hired someone to look after her children?
7. After awhile, all of the scenes seem similar - Julia voices her concern to her work colleague, the children act distant and it is infuriating. The pacing seems repetitive at times.
8. The scene in which Blaine hurts his knee and seeks Olivia's attention as opposed to that of his own mother's was really well done in the sense that it helps the audience realise the extent of Julia's feelings of resentment towards Olivia. The scenes in which the children ignore Julia were good in the sense that they helped Julia to realise that something was wrong in the house.
Both Julia and Olivia did well in their respective roles. Olivia excelled in acting unusual when Julia was around, but when she was being questioned by the police she did not give them any cause to be concerned. The actress excelled in showcasing her duplicitous nature.
"The Twisted Nanny" lacks any credibility because certain aspects of the movie do not make sense. I enjoyed it and the two main actresses are talented, but the movie could have been better.
The movie is especially repetitive. The same things seem to happen over and over again - The mother is tired, the children act distant towards her and Julia suspects that there is something wrong with the nanny. The same information is presented over and over again. It is as if you are seeing the same scenes with slightly different dialogue.
The beginning of the movie is similar to many other Lifetime movies such as "The Sitter," "A Stranger with My Kids" and "Nanny Cam" whereby the mother arrives home to find that the nanny has cleaned in an impressive manner.
1. Unless there is some aspect of the law that I have not quite grasped, there was never anything to preclude the mother from asking the nanny to leave. At any point, Julia could have excluded Olivia from her home. She was fully entitled to not have Olivia anywhere near her children.
2. Common sense would dictate that Julia should have introduced Jessica and Blaine to Olivia before-hand. It would have been prudent for them to meet at least once before coming to work for the family. Sometimes, it is the little details which can make a significant difference and make the movie more realistic. A scene could have been included in which Julia sits down with Olivia and going over what is expected of her on a daily basis. Most people would not leave their children with a person whom they have only just met.
3. Why do Jessica and Blaine share a room? The house seems sufficiently big for each of the children to have a room of their own.
4. At one point in the movie, a woman from the agency that Olivia purports to be from visits the house. Subsequently, no one from the agency asks any questions as to the whereabouts of this woman. Even a five year old would think to question the last few places this person frequented. Peripheral characters in Lifetime movies often make an appearance and then are treated as if they never existed.
5. Julia contacts the police because she is concerned about what is going on in her home. What does she expect the police to do? If she is that suspicious, she could have installed a web cam or just inform Olivia that she never wants to see her again. Yes, I concede that this is a Lifetime movie and certain things have to happen for the plot to exist. It was, however, within the realm of possibility for Julia to ask Olivia to leave her home.
6. When Julia contacts the agency by phone, this does not seem to accomplish much. Should she not have conducted robust enquiries before she hired someone to look after her children?
7. After awhile, all of the scenes seem similar - Julia voices her concern to her work colleague, the children act distant and it is infuriating. The pacing seems repetitive at times.
8. The scene in which Blaine hurts his knee and seeks Olivia's attention as opposed to that of his own mother's was really well done in the sense that it helps the audience realise the extent of Julia's feelings of resentment towards Olivia. The scenes in which the children ignore Julia were good in the sense that they helped Julia to realise that something was wrong in the house.
Both Julia and Olivia did well in their respective roles. Olivia excelled in acting unusual when Julia was around, but when she was being questioned by the police she did not give them any cause to be concerned. The actress excelled in showcasing her duplicitous nature.