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The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle
Starring: Annabella Sciorra, Rebecca De Mornay, Matt McCoy, Ernie Hudson, Julianne Moore, Madeline Zima
Directed by: Curtis Hanson
Rating: R
Genre: Drama, Thriller
1992
Times Seen:
Tim: 1
Summary: A mother (Annabella Sciorra) hires a nanny (Rebecca De Mornay) to help with her newborn infant son. However, the nanny has ulterior motives- to destroy the mother and take the family for herself.
Review:
Tim: There are some movies we love, some we hate, and some that exist in that strange gray area in between. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is one of those movies. The film isn't exactly an enjoyable experience- the movie sets out to make you feel uncomfortable, and it achieves this goal. The story revolves around a family who hires a nanny to help with a newborn infant. The nanny, however, has very bad intentions- to destroy the mother and take over the family herself. There are so many disturbing scenes in this movie. This isn't done with blood and guts, but on a much more psychological level.
I was impressed with how the nanny psychologically manipulated everyone around her. These were the most disturbing parts of the film. The movie does a great job of showing how small, seemingly insignificant mental pushes can get people to believe and do the craziest things. It's not easy to watch one person undermine the sanity of another. This is portrayed very effectively in the film.
This is a hard movie for me to wrap my head around. On the one hand, it wasn't exactly an enjoyable viewing experience. However, that's not what the movie set out to do. The Hand that Rocks the Cradle wanted to make the audience feel uncomfortable- to make you question how easy it would be for someone to manipulate you. These are not fun topics, but they are fascinating ones. I don't believe that every movie you watch should be an enjoyable experience. Some movies set out to make you feel discomfort- some set out to scare you, disgust you, or make you sad. I believe it's a mistake to think all good movies have to be enjoyable. Movies can have many different goals, but they all revolve around two things- 1. To make you think. 2. To make you feel. This movie made me feel- made me feel uneasy and uncomfortable. Those aren't the most pleasant emotions, but it achieved it's goal.
The cast is interesting to me. I thought they all worked well together, and I can't imagine the cast any different. However, on an individual level, I had problems with many of them. I thought Annabella Sciorra was good, but I never really connected with her character. Her performance was solid, but it didn't really draw me in- it kept me at a distance. I wish it had been better. Rebecca De Mornay gives a great deal of effort, but I thought she came across as too wooden and unbelievable. I know many people will disagree because she certainly wasn't afraid to embrace her crazy side here. I couldn't help but feel she was a little too TV-movie for me.
Matt McCoy was fine. I never loved him at any point, but I thought he did a serviceable job. I loved Ernie Hudson- he made me uncomfortable with his performance, and I appreciate him for that. Julianne Moore is good in a supporting role, and I loved seeing the film debut of Madeline Zima. The cast as a whole worked well together, but all of them had weaknesses on their own.
The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is interesting to me because it is so uncomfortable to watch. Besides the psychological manipulation, we have a sexual molestation, some scary scenes with a mentally ill handy-man, a murder, and something that would probably be considered abuse of a child. These are heavy, hard topics to watch, and this movie crams them all in together. Still, these are done effectively, and the movie mostly steers clear of the "Lifetime Original Movie" comparisons. I didn't exactly enjoy this movie, but it is a good one.
Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7
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