Unsure of where to turn after his wife suffers a nervous breakdown, a workaholic politician hires a drifter as a nanny for his five daughters, each of whom believe that they are also insane, in this Australian comedy written and directed by P.J. Hogan of 'Muriel's Wedding' fame. This might sound like a relatively straightforward plot, but the catch is that the drifter is perhaps the most mentally unstable person of them all, and while Toni Collette is occasionally over-the-top in the role, her words of wisdom are surprisingly thoughtful as she shows the daughters that everybody is a little "mental" going on textbook definitions. Kerry Fox as a posh, nosey neighbour comes under her hammer in particular and her pure white house is a magnificent feat of art direction. The film's most outstanding technical aspect though is Don McAlpine's cinematography, with unusual camera angles and mobile shots a la his Oscar nominated work on 'Moulin Rouge!'. Energetic supporting performances abound - from Liev Schreiber and Deborah Mailman in particular - however, the film is never quite as funny as it aims to be. A guitar-playing Sam Clark is frankly a nuisance and the film walks an uneasy fine line between normalising mental illness and trivialising it as one of the daughters definitely has some undiagnosed condition whereas the others just believe that they are "mental" to explain their unpopularity. A key line, "how neurotypical" lingers in the mind though, and while uneven as a comedy, the film does at least offer a welcome positive outlook on being and feeling ever-so-slightly different.
