Nancy 2018, Is She Really The Child That Went Missing?

The Nancy movie was released in August 2018 after the premiere at Sundance in January of the same year. She is the type of chameleon film that scares you. Not because Nancy is a serial killer or a machete-wielding puppet, but because she is quiet.

Nancy’s first appearance was at Sundance 2018 where its director Christina Chloe scored the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and the other was at Sitges – Catalonian International Film Festival coveting Best Actress. Andrea Riseborough is cast as Ms. Freeman and many will remember her from Mandy (2018). It’s Riseborough’s eyes that are somewhat unforgettable, you’ll know instantly you’ve seen them before, even if you don’t place her straight away.

Nancy Movie is Not a True Story

Maybe I’m incorrect, but the synopsis suggests that Nancy believes she is a kidnapped child she sees on the news. She doesn’t call the police, she goes straight to the parents and announces her theory.

Irrespective of the IMBd.com synopsis and many reviews, I felt like Nancy was just an amazing storyteller who could immerse herself into situations she thought might get her closer to the life she thought she should have. I also thought her character knew she had this astute ability to create fictitious scenarios based on what she thought others wanted to hear. In other words, the synopsis on IMBd is incorrect.

I never thought she believed that she was the kidnapped child and rather was more convinced that Nancy felt the right to a life that looked more like the one she wanted. Because of this, she seemed much like an opportunist rather than the victim of mistaken identity. Such was her loneliness that she was able to create fictitious circumstances that suited her connections.

They’re Not Plot Holes – Nancy Movie Ending Explained

In scenes within the second half, “Nancy” goes along with the processes like genetic testing. However, in earlier scenes with her mother, she is asked over and over again what she’s up to. It’s as if her mother has been dealing with this her whole life. Her mother’s death, it’s almost like this allowed her to unleash her potential once she was free of her. Perhaps in her heart, she felt like her life was a shitty example of what it could have been but I do believe that deep down she knew she’d just drawn the short straw. I’d love to know what she got up to before the things we see her do.

Sure Nancy’s birth certificate was missing, but she had a driver’s license and attended college. The detail of her unknown birth certificate gave her the loophole she was looking for. She was then able to create the dialogue she required to meld into the family. Once she gets her foot in the door, she is seen rifling through the missing daughter’s things to add to her scenario.

I don’t think these details were intended to be plot holes in “Nancy” but rather allude to the full scope of this woman and her personality. An online movie friend described it as a type of Munchhausen and this is the type of scope that really fits for me too.

Her emotional difficulties were so pronounced that she was able to create the personality traits to fit into the box placed in front of her. Here she doesn’t fake an illness, she fakes a part of her life she knows will gain her the most internal satisfaction.

Movies About People Who Pretend To Be A Missing Child

It’s the end scene of the Nancy movie that really drives this message home. The parents both accepted Nancy. Despite overhearing the agency tell Ellen (J. Smith-Cameron) she was not, in fact, the missing daughter. She chose to let Nancy stay and be the missing part of their family. She relished the similarities of this fictitious but now found the missing child, all grown up. Nancy was a blessing and she left in the middle of the night anyway.

I was really excited to see Buscemi who plays Leo pop into the frame. It was mainly through him that the full extent of the sad situation was the most heightened. A psychologist by trade, Leo was the last to fall into Nancy’s fabricated truth. It’s Leo’s disparaged unwillingness in the initial scenes with Nancy that truly show how damaging Nancy is. How many unseen instances were there prior to her biggest game yet?

Overall this missing person film is a poignant portrayal without the death and destruction that usually affords this kind of storyline.

I give Nancy

3.5 no one gets killed in identity theft out of 5