Review of When the Bough Breaks (2016) by J B — 10 Sep 2016

First of all I must say that this movie has given me more reactions than I expected. When I initially saw the trailer, I predicted that this movie would have very similar precedents to the movie "Obsession" with Beyonce, except there was a surrogated woman as the protaganist, rather than just a crazy obsessed woman. Yes, it did have simiar circumstances but after the first quarter of the movie, when the introduction phase was over, it left me constantly anxious about what would happen next.

I wondered about why Anna choose to carry out this scam. As her abusive boyfriend was obviously manipulative and mentioned that he was "the brains" of it all, I questioned if she was simply brainwashed and would eventually do the right thing at the end, leaving a "happy ending". Nah, the director couldnt be that passive. As various events start to unfold, I gather that yes, many of the situations that occured were exaggerated but what is a movie without some extraness for the people. We love extraness! The fact that she had a troubled past showed that she was dangerous and had serious pyscological issues that were unresolved, so the movie director ran with that and pushed the limits of what craziness looks like. There were scenes where she came to his job with scantily dressed clothes, holding a bottle of champagne. This scene, was a little extra. Or the scene where she frolicked around on video camera with the word "baby" on her belly and sent it to his work email. A bit over the top.

Now let me talk about some of the "she wild'n" "ohhhh my God!!", jump out your seat scenes. When she layed on the floor listening to music with with the sexy red dress after the dinner party (attempt at seduction), matterfact the nerve of her to go in Laura's closet without permission to get and wear the dress. No one gave you permission ma, you're wild! How dare you! Or the guesthouse scene where she purposely made John come out to see about the noises that were coming from her room. The look of deceit and wanting in her eyes, or her "I know you're looking and I want you to see all of this" with the robe drop, breast out, was just BOLD. The fight scene at the lake house was intense. He was almost out the house and wham!!! Here comes crazy! The blow she gave him was so powerful, that for a second, I thought she killed him! But I knew that it couldn't be. Omg. Then the scene where we thought she was dead, we thought he had finished her after ramming her into the gun cabinet. But of course she came out, as they were ready to drive off , and appeared almost "Jason like" bloody and all, with eyes pierced with evil and holding a shootgun (She bodied that look).. She fires.....

But thats all I'll give...I spoiled enough. There are other good scenes other than the few I chose to share.

What I did take away from this movie were all the important messages I think the movie writer wanted me to walk away with. Questioning my trust and faith in the process of surrogacy, manipulation, mental illness, and how far people will go for the things they desire and of course there are others. Overall, I enjoyed this movie because it was captivating and went over my expectation.