‘Au Pair Nightmare’ is epitome of Lifetime films
“The Au Pair Nightmare” is not what you’d think of as a good movie in the traditional sense.
It’s melodramatic and not a little cheesy, the acting is over-the-top and the story is unhinged.
Which is to say, if you’re looking for a Lifetime movie, it’s the Lifetime-iest. Luckily on that front, it airs Monday on Lifetime.
Looked at through that lens, it’s kind of great. Director Joe Russo, who’s from Phoenix (as is co-writer Chris LaMont) pushes all the right buttons. If you wind up screaming at the screen during certain crucial moments, well, that’s kind of the point.
Our protagonist persists, despite all the red flags
The story begins in happier times for college student Taylor (Brytnee Ratledge) — happy for about five min
utes. Tragedy strikes early, and soon she is looking for a way out of her town, with its constant reminders of sorrow. Against the advice of her older sister Kara (Elizabeth Saydah), Taylor applies for a job as an au pair with a family in a town about an hour away.
She’s never done this kind of work; her resume on the child-care front consists of some babysitting gigs. But her honesty and her insistence land her an interview with John (Tristan Thomas) and Allesandra (Annie Heise). He’s a pediatrician and she’s working on a SECRET WRITING PROJECT (note: red flag). The job is to take care of Emily (Gianna Gallegos), their precocious 8year-old daughter, whom they lock in her room every night (note: another red flag).
During the interview John is most encouraging. But when he leaves the room for a moment Allesandra turns ice cold and brings out the hammer: She doesn’t trust Taylor, she doesn’t think she’s right for the job and she has no intention of hiring her (note: RED FLAG RED FLAG REDDEST OF ALL RED FLAGS).
Expect jaw-dropping twists in ‘Au Pair Nightmare’
Luckily for Taylor, Emily sneaks down the stairs of the fabulous modern mansion and takes an instant shine to Taylor. John hires her, over Allesandra’s objections and Kara’s concerns, and the fun begins.
Or the sadistic mind games, depending on which character’s point of view you’re talking about.
It wouldn’t be fair to give too much away because some of the twists are jaw-dropping, not always in a good way. The story relies on a lot of coincidence, a fair amount of stupidity and obliviousness to the facts in front of you. Which doesn’t make it all that different from a lot of movies. It’s all just a little more pronounced here.
Gallegos, Ratledge and Thomas are relatively restrained, except for the times when they’re not (Thomas in particular gets a ready-for-his-overactingcloseup moment). Heise, on the other hand, starts in full-on scene-chewing mode and never lets up.
The saving grace of all this is that Russo and LaMont clearly know what they’re doing. This is not the kind of movie where, when it’s over, you sit around and muse over the morality of a character’s choice. It’s the kind of movie where, when it’s over, you sit around and yell, “I cannot BELIEVE so-and-so did this-and-such.” And it is every bit of that kind of movie, and then some.