I almost turned this off after the first 15 minutes. There was some truly horrible acting, primarily from bit parts, but the story soon focuses on the Nanny (Eleanor, played by Leighton Meester) and the boy (Reggie, played by Julian Shatkin), and things begin to improve. It also took a while for young Julian Shatkin to grow on me, but eventually his nearly emotionless portrayal opens up with more facial expression and age appropriate gestures. He seems to take on more personality as the chemistry between him and Ms. Meester grows. The acting continues to be unbalanced, mostly when Reggie is acting so precocious, which is when lines are delivered with the least emotion.
My biggest complaint about the movie is that the cello scenes weren't staged better. Mr. Shatkin shouldn't bear the weight of portraying a "cello prodigy" in those scenes since he doesn't play the cello. The music is described as "beautiful" in the dialogue, but I don't see it. In one scene the camera stays on Eleanor as she ascends a flight of stairs with music in the soundtrack, but there is no shot of Reggie playing. For all we know, she's just exploring the house, not following the "beautiful" sound of the boy playing. How about some close ups of a cello being played well, by a real cello player with young hands?
My biggest complaint about the movie is that the cello scenes weren't staged better. Mr. Shatkin shouldn't bear the weight of portraying a "cello prodigy" in those scenes since he doesn't play the cello. The music is described as "beautiful" in the dialogue, but I don't see it. In one scene the camera stays on Eleanor as she ascends a flight of stairs with music in the soundtrack, but there is no shot of Reggie playing. For all we know, she's just exploring the house, not following the "beautiful" sound of the boy playing. How about some close ups of a cello being played well, by a real cello player with young hands?