Review of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) by Declan B — 28 Oct 2009
Alfred Hitchcock meets Fatal Attraction meets every damned thriller ever made. It seems like the makers consulted the E-Z guide to making a thriller and it works! The suspense is done with the long takes of someone slowy approacing the inevitable and this is effective, so why not use it? The suspense remains no matter how cliched and this film is a perfect example of that.
Cliches aside, it is a smartly written, nicely paced film. The suspense mounts as the nanny does more and more evil things to tear the family apart and her desent into madness, or rather when it is made more obvious, is incredibly acted by De Mornay. The highlight of her performance is the small scene in which she confronts the daughters bully at school. The rest of the cast were good enough but didn't have the strengh as De Mornay had in their roles. The other fanastic performance came from Ernie Hudson as the simple minded handyman. He gets the innocence and friendliness just right and is a great film character.
It is directed decently by Hanson, even if he does just follow the genric thriller path. At least he understood the genre enough to make it effective.
It may not be original but it is certainly enjoyable. Not all of it is predictable and even when it is, it is fun and gripping to wait for the obvious to happen. Worth a watch.
This review of The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) was written by Declan B on 28 Oct 2009.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle has generally received positive reviews.
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