At first I only saw her from a distance so I thought she was Tim Roth's wife and the children's mother, but then it became clear she wasn't related to any of them. Why was she living in the house? Had she started out as the children's nanny when they were little and just stayed on for some reason?
shareSame here. I could never figure out who the heck she was. At first, I thought wife. Then older sister...then aunt...then friend who's also a live-in nanny? I just don't know. It's simply sloppy writing with no proper direction to help us understand her connection to the family. Therefore, I never really connected to her, or even cared much about her. She was practically a "stranger" or "outsider" throughout.
I thought it was pretty obvious that she was the nanny. I can't imagine any other option...
shareI don't see why you would have a nanny for an 11 year old and a 15 year old. I also wouldn't have expected a family living in a bad neighborhood to be able to afford a nanny.
shareIt was hardly a bad neighbourhood. You don't get much property for your money in London, so to afford a quite large, detached house would cost a lot.
You are probably judging the area by the chav family who caused all the trouble, but they were more the exception than the rule.
As a man with a full time job (a solicitor) having a nanny makes absolute sense, especially as the daughter is only 11 and has to be monitored for her diabetes. Would you expect children of their age to come home from school to an empty house or spend all school holidays home alone? - unworkable.
And why do you say it was a bad neighbourhood? A house that size in London would cost a fortune. Certainly not a bad neighborhood by London standards.
There is a line early in the film where she asks about her wages that makes it very clear she is employed and thus obviously a nanny.
I felt it was obvious who she was from her first lin asking for her wages. And as a single dad, it's very likely he'd keep on a nanny. As for the neighborhood, he may be sacrificing the big home for the nanny who is a mother figure to his children. Also consider that the daughter has a serious condition.
shareIt was incredibly obvious from the start. Just wow.
shareI thought she was the housekeeper.
shareGlad I wasn't alone. I checked here to find out her relationship to the family, it was not obvious to me. Thanks for your posts.
shareAs mentioned her first line about the wages was necessary to easily understand who she was to the family. Those who missed that line might be confused. But it was not sloppy writing as the line was there for that reason.
I'm sure most people in that area would not have a live-in housekeeper/nanny, but Archie was a lawyer so probably not doing so badly. And the fact that he was a single dad and had a daughter with a serious condition makes it very likely that he would want someone there when she came home from school.
i thought she was the wife's sister because Skunk referred to her as her Auntie.
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