Customer Reviews

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle

5 star:		(47)
4 star:		(25)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Who would've thought that The Hand That Rocks The Cradle would've become so popular ever since its 1992 release? After being broadcast on the networks many times and finally put on cable, the viewers ratings show that this thriller is one that manages to gain more popularity with each showing. Starring Rebecca De Mornay as the estranged wife of an obstitrician accused of sexual molestation, she seeks out the woman who brought up the charges (Annabella Sciorra) after her husband kills himself. De Mornay's character, Peyton Flanders, worms her way into Annie's home, posing as a nanny in order to make Sciorra's family her own. The suspense builds to sometimes frightening heights as Peyton begins to destroy Annie's life, misplacing papers and making things not what they seem. The climax is one of the best suspense endings I've seen in my life, and the acting from each person in this film is amazing and truly believable. Unlike so many other movies, this one is not anticlimactic, and flows very steadily from start to finish. A must-see for an De Mornay fan as well as followers of the suspense genre.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is one creepy film but I enjoyed it. Rebecca de Mornay plays a manipulative and revenge-seeking nanny. I am kinda surprised this thriller is directed by Curtis Hanson, doesn't seem like his type of movie. I won't give away too much but De Mornay's character has been through a tragedy and she will stop at nothing to seek solace even if it means driving a happily married couple insane. I highly recommend this cat and mouse game, enjoy!

The plot is a bit predictable. You'll probably guess most of the plot twists before they come. The demented nanny. The saintly, stuttering black handyman whom she has fired. The mousy, asthmatic wife. The clueless husband. There are sadly, few surprises in this movie.

So why four stars instead of zero or one? Well, Rebecca DeMornay is superbly chilling in the role. She's absolutely believable as the nanny who has her very real reasons for going off the deep end. (In fact one of the few surprises in the film is that she is given a solid reason for flipping out. I sort of hate to say this, but I was kind of rooting for her over the very mousy Annabella Sciorra.)

The scene with DeMornay in the woman's bathroom at the arboretum was great. Her character, Payton, was quite soulless, and she made you feel her chill. She never plays a false note. The stares she gave could stop people in their tracks. You really do think this woman could kill.

Recommended. Worth watching if you want a good, entertaining. And DeMornay's character will stick with you for quite some time. She's that good (and beautiful, to boot.) Because of her story, you actually start rooting for her, except that she's gone around the bend a bit.

The ethereal, beautiful, and always just a little too frightening Rebecca DeMornay does a star turn in this overly predictable potboiler about a psychotic Nanny run amok.

In THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE, DeMornay plays Peyton, the widow of a Seattle-area gynecologist who commits suicide after he is accused by a patient (Annabella Sciorra) of sexual impropriety during an examination.

After losing her own pregnancy as a result of the shock of her husband's death, DeMornay manages to get hired by Sciorra to be the live-in Nanny for Sciorra's newly-arrived baby. As soon as Peyton settles in, she begins the slow and deliberate seduction and destruction of Sciorra's family, with the ultimate goal of stealing both husband and children away from the woman she considers responsible for the destruction of her own life.

Peyton is, ironically, a somewhat sympathetic character, who seems more dynamic than Sciorra's mousy Claire, at least until she starts to spit venom as her carefully constructed fantasy world begins to collapse.

The best thing about THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE is DeMornay herself, who moves from shyness and gentleness to brazenness and cruelty with an ease that is really disturbing. DeMornay is not a great actress, but she always projects an underlying predatory sexuality that THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE exploits magnificently.

When DeMornay's Peyton finally takes leave of her senses she is absolutely, convincingly, terrifying.

Always, ALWAYS, get references!

Here's a movie whose premise is often unsettling, but the execution, when it takes off, keeps one's attention through thrills and chills. A doctor commits suicide after malpractice charges. His widow, who has apparently led a "normal" life before that, suddenly turns into a vengeful demon (just why is left unexplained). She targets the woman who first brought abuse charges against her deceased husband, posing as a nanny and moving in with a hidden motive of stealing her baby. The doctor's widow turned vengeful nanny is played by seldom-seen actress Rebecca de Mornay, in a generally commanding performance that could well make us wish to see her act in more movies. She's chilling as the grisly villain but a few of her actions are as unexplained as why she turns vengeful in the first place. At one point, as part of her plot, she destroys an important business letter to her target's husband (and father of the baby she plans to steal). She does so in a "toilet stall", preparing to flush the fragments of the letter. But for mysterious reasons she goes ballistic and seems to try to destroy the "stall" by beating it with a plunger. The mother she targets is played by Annabella Sciorra, who, in typical fashion for her, is part riveting, part exasperating. Her husband, played by Matt McCoy, is a longsuffering doter, exasperatingly longsuffering at times through his wife's travails. Julianne Moore has a supporting role in this movie, made before she had (at least to my knowledge) become anywhere nearly the major actress she is today. Her performance herein is a mixed bag, showing considerable acting potential but not clearly foreshadowing the significant actress she would become. But perhaps the show-stealing role herein is that of a mentally-challenged gardener, played by Ernie Hudson. Too bad movie makers apparently didn't take more note of his performance and recognize him as an actor who should have gone places. Given the right roles, I thought he should be one to eagerly wish to see again and again in the movies. But sadly, everywhere else I've seen him, he's far and away wasted compared to this role. Too bad some riveting performances seem to go so unnoticed.

This movie was terrific. Rebecca De Mornay played her part so well, I felt like I was living there in that house. You can feel the tension building and at times are very uncomfortable. It's hard to believe that someone as pretty and well-mannered as De Mornay's character could turn so evil. The character she played was probably normal until her life fell apart. In a short period of time, her husband committed suicide after the scandal came out that he was molesting patients, she lost the baby she was carrying, and was then forced to have an emergency hysterectomy. In addition to all this, her husband's estate was going to be sued by a number of sources, so she could not even keep her house or any of the money. This character had lost everything. Now she wants revenge on the woman who started it all, Claire Bartel (Sciorra). She also wants Claire's husband and two children for herself. The only thing she needs to do is get Claire out of the way. It is truly chilling from beginning to end. Seattle looks great in it, too. In fact, this movie inspired me to take my first trip to Seattle. I even went to the "Bartel's" house, which is located in Tacoma. It is a beautiful neighborhood. I took pictures of the house and surrounding area. It was hard to believe that I was actually there. The neighborhood didn't have that "chilling" feeling, though. You only get that from watching the movie. Amanda Silver did a brilliant job writing this script.

A tale of revenge and madness in white picket-fence America, exquisitely crafted and paced with excellent acting by Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, and especially Ernie Hudson as 'Solomon.' With its getting-closer-to-the-edge-of-your-seat escalation of menace, this film is not for the squeamish but is refreshing for its constraint from using too much graphic violence (despite the 'R' rating for intensity and adult themes). Well-integrated, unique situations you don't see every day in this genre, plus genuinely scary surprises keep it from slipping into stock mode or mean spiritedness...Veteran soundtrack composer Graeme Revell's musical score compliments the mood and action extremely well but visual DVD transfer appears less than perfect; too bad, because it's an otherwise good-looking film with rich colors and appealing locations. A MUST for Rebecca De Mornay fans, and if you're prepared to be set-up in the classic thriller manner, you'll enjoy this suspensful movie.(Famous quote/teaser: "This is MY family.")

If you are happily married, have children and are planning a night out in the near future, Do Not Watch This Movie Beforehand! You will find it extremely difficult to entrust your children to a stranger, no matter how much that babysitter smiles! I must admit the storyline is pretty predictable in how it's going to turn out, but it sure is fun watching Mrs. De Mornay do her rendition of a psychopath! A nice little tale of revenge of the most sinister sort, with two standout performances: Rebecca De Mornay as the Nutso Nanny and Ernie Hudson as the slightly retarded handy man. Both are extremely convincing throughout, but De Mornay's performance is what has made this movie such a classic. That and the habit her character, Peyton, has of removing her shirt... A must see movie for fans of Horror and Suspense, because the premise is all too plausible and all too creepy!

In 1965 Bette Davis took on the role of a seemingly trustworthy but homicidal British nanny in "The Nanny." In 1976, Billie Whitelaw once again gave live-in caretakers a bad name as Ms. Baylock in "The Omen." But in 1992, Rebecca DeMornay took the cake with her icy, but symathetic nanny-turned-psycho in Curtis Hanson's unforgettable "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle."

The story, although repeatedly criticized for it's predictability (so what?!) follow the maternity of Claire Bartel (Sciorra) who files a lawsuit--followed by four other clients--against her malpracticing obstertrician Dr. Mott(de Lancie), after some proding from husband McCoy. Sensing the end of his profession, the breast-happy doctor kills himself with a pistol. Unbeknownst to Claire, Dr.Mott has a pregnant and emotionally insecure (understatment?) wife (an ever empathetic De Mornay) who, following her husband's suicide loses the child due to complications during birth and undergoes a hysterectomy.
Six months later, Claire has had her child and is in need of a nanny for her newborn and daughter (Madeline Zima) while she tinkers with her new greenhouse. Enter placid-faced De Mornay as Peyton Flanders, the answer to Claire's prayers, and let the bloody payback begin.

De Mornay delivers a earth-shattering performance as the nanny from Hell, Sciorra in an inferior role portrays the asthmatic mother who's losing her family to the help, and McCoy is a nice extra as the father who hasn't got a clue until it's too late. Julianne Moore, in one of her first big breaks plays Scoirra's ill-fated (yes, it's gory) sister-in-law AND old flame of her own hubby. Hudson plays the mentally-challenged African-American handyman and hero, Solomon, who falls victim to the nanny's dirtywork. A well-rounded cast makes "Cradle" a treat for stalker/killer flick fans as well as those with a taste for substancial Hollywood thrillers.

Graeme Revell's score punctuates an occasionally slow-paced plot and accentuates on the thematic elements, while still giving the leads--particularly the nanny--good prescence and feeling. Special effects and stunts aren't the main emphasis, but the demise of Julianne Moore's nosy sister-in-law in the greenhouse is an unforgettable bloodbath that'll make you think twice about the way you position skylights.

Crowd-pleasing ending could've been better, but one supposes is the justified (and ultra-typical) way to end the Hollywood horror film. Good-guys win, bad-girl loses, cue the light-hearted music and roll credits. Deja vu? You betcha! But, for the other 95% of "Cradle" you won't be disappointed by Hanson's skillful direction and a beautifully crafted edge-of-your-seat drama.

Saw it, loved it, bought it (was there ever a doubt?),
Miss Gigi

Startlingly effective and bewildering, THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE uses a variety of Seattle and Tacoma locations to great effect. Though isn't that the arboretum from San Francisco's Golden Gate Park standing in for Claire's workplace? We saw this when it first came out, and viewing it again you get sucked right back in, due to a potent combination of fine writing, horrid yet efficient writing, and a handful of strong performances. Little Madeline Zima puts our present day diva, Dakota Fanning to shame, with some quiet, subtle work worthy of the juvenile Oscar--if only the Academy still issued them! Whatever happened to Madeline Zima? She must be 21 by now, I wonder if she's still working or did the trauma of working with Rebecca de Mornay drive her away from acting? With her big eyes and timid smile, Zima is outstanding as a child trapped in a manipulative relationship with a psychopathic nanny (Rebecca de Mornay). We see how easily Peyton, the nanny, is able to deflect the little girl's love away from her real mother, just by pushing the right buttons.

What to make of the Ernie Hudson character? Hudson is absolutely terrific, and has never again been used so well, but the whole "black retarded friend who adores the white family" thing leaves a bad taste in the viewers' mouth. I don't really care for being politically correct, but the scene where the Bartel family gives him a new bicycle might well have been considered old hat even in the heyday of DW Griffith. At the end of the movie I wanted him to stand back and let Peyton destroy Annabella Sciorra, that would have served her right.

The music scoring I found very beautiful. The composer managed to find exactly the right aria, Arthur Sullivan's "Poor Wand'ring One" (from THE PIRATES OF PENZANCE) to express something of Peyton's fragile mental state--and to let us discover that, beneath the malice, trembles a frightened and abandoned soul. Claire keeps playing this track over and over as though unaware that a real-life "wandring one" was under her roof. Later, at the very end, this music is used to underscore Ernie Hudson's last scene. You almost feel that the music knows more about the solitary and the traumatic than the director ever dreamed of.

Julianne Moore looks like an anorexic in her exquisite, chic and expensive outfits. I wonder why the screenwriters didn't think of a plot in which she and Matt McCoy ARE actually having an affair, which Peyton finds out about and uses against them? As it stands the story rests on a mass of unconvincing coincidences. How on earth could Peyton arrange it so that Claire and Julianne Moore would go out on a girl date together on the very afternoon of the evening in which Moore and McCoy are planning a surprise birthday party? But without that, there's no way her plot could have worked. Oh well! And as another reviewer has noted, Annabella Sciorrs, dimwitted throughout the whole first part of the movie, has a brilliant flash of deduction at the end which makes hash out of her characterization. Visiting Dr. Mott's house, she does more than put two and two together--she puts one together. Then she races home and slaps Rebecca De Mornay across the floor. Lawsuit, anyone?