La Main sur le berceau

Sorry for the lousy pun but a nanny-themed movie starring Madeline Zima was asking for it, now, let the review start.

You have a good typical American Family made of a handsome blue-eyed scientist with a sexy beard, played by an actor whose fame didn't rise much since the film, a frail devoted asthmatic housewife who looks like the twin sister of Talia Shire with a nicer hairdo, played by Annabella Sciorra, and a smart little girl (Zima), that's for the initial picture, and this happy family is looking for a nanny to take care of their newborn son and brother, so that Claire (the wife) can take care of a greenhouse project. Kind of a boring premise ... but there's more spicy elements about this family, and it's all wrapped up in the first 15 minutes, like a script school-case.

During a visit, Claire was victim of sexual abuse from her gynecologist, she sued him, other mothers complained, he killed himself, his wife played by Rebecca De Mornay didn't inherit the money and what's more, she has a miscarriage in the process, and become permanently sterile. To call it a strike of 'bad luck' would be the understatement of the millennium. Still, in her bad luck, while watching the news, she could catch the name and face of that woman who was indirectly responsible for all the personal mayhem she went through. You gotta wonder what the TV and police were thinking. Anyway, now, guess who's gonna offer his services for the nanny job?

Good thriller always rely on simple concept. "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" is no exception, it was an unexpected hit in 1992, the same year of a similarly themed film "Single White Female". Both are based on the same "Stranger Within" concept, when the lives of an ordinary family or group of persons are affected by the entrance of a next- door stranger, and it is a source of heart-pounding psychological thrills that was made started with "Fatal Attraction" and "Misery". The "Stranger Within" thriller is almost a synonym of 'fatal attraction'... in fact, the film could have as a tag-line "Fatal Attraction with a Nanny", just like "Single White Female" was "Fatal Attraction with a Roommate".

So, there are reasons though why this film wasn't as memorable as the one with Glenn Close, the surprise effect asked for more tricks and it's likely that the ones used in the film never really catch the audience off guard. Rewatching the film myself after 15 years, I realized that the realism, as used in Curtis Hanson's film, was made of the self- canceling effect between things happening too conveniently well for the villainess for the first three quarters, and then for the good guys in the last one. The evolution of the narrative is so schematically well-oiled that even the greatest effects are still attenuated by their predictability. It wows at times but hardly with a major 'w'.

Just to give you an idea, my younger brother who has seen less movies than I (ten years younger) immediately guessed that the big black retarded guy (played by the only Ghostbuster whose name is hardly remembered) was gonna be the last-minute hero, needless to say that he harbored a triumphant smile when at the climax, the poor daddy broke his legs and was immediately disqualified from the final confrontation. Anyone could've guess that but he also predicted that the slutty evil baby sitter would frame him so that he can be expelled from the house, and that was impressive.

He still enjoyed the film and I still did, but it is true that, suspension of disbelief was too demanding. So many things go totally wrong as soon as Peyton, the baby sitter makes her entrance that it's a wonder how Claire can't reassemble the pieces of he puzzle. She wants to wear a sexy dress, but she finds a last-minute stain and then puts the something that looks like extracted from the wall cover of a grandma's house. But let's say she's naive and at least, the character of the friend Marlene, played by sexy Julianne Moore never really trusted Peyton, but then how about a missing application letter, how about the sudden change of behavior of her daughter. But let's just say that, given how these tricks work, and how efficient they are in their frustrating effects, I accept them for the sake of what I expect from a B-movie thriller.

Still, there are three things I can't really forgive and that could've been easily avoided, Peyton could have faked a resume, after all the troubles that affected Claire's family, they would take some precautions and not let any stranger entering their world, just like that. Secondly, I don't think a woman who didn't have a child, much more sterile, can breast-feed a baby, and last but not least, the depiction of asthma. Not only these wheezing noises were annoying because they were never matching Clair's chests' movements, but when you decide that your movie will have a main character suffering from asthma, is it too much asking some tutorial about the proper use of an inhaler. All she did was making a quick click, she never put the inhaler in her mouth and it didn't feel as if she was inhaling anything.

If you care for realism, the film might not be your cup of tea, but that's not a reason to dismiss it, "Fatal Attraction", as a milestone as it was (and it wasn't) had its more-or- less ridiculously unrealistic parts. So, Hanson's film is enjoyable for what it serves well, a solid villainous performance, and an eerie sometimes sexy atmosphere that creates a well-packaged average psychological thriller, that's all, but as far as realism is concerned, well, it's not a good sign when a film is an inspiration for these hilarious '100 THings I learned" threads ...

Just the opening scene turns off a lot of people, but that's too because all of the film - all of it - is interesting with Rebecca DeMornay excelling at a vengeful, psychotic killer nanny. This "nanny" does about everything you could do to ruin a family. Yes, she's the nanny from Hell.

I always thought Annabella Sciorra had an interesting face with a knockout smile, at least back in late '80s, early '90s, so I enjoy watching her. Here, she plays a good woman who is married to a good man (Matt McCoy) - wow, there's an oddity in modern films: a happy and faithful husband and wife!

This is an involving film. Once you are into it, you're hooked and the 100-plus minutes go by pretty fast. DeMornay is so effective in her role you just can't wait to see her exposed for who she is and justice done to her.

I did think Sciorra's character would have needed more to go on to come to the right conclusion near the end, but, usually every film has some question marks regarding credibility. The violent, ending scene is very suspenseful and well- done.

This is a chilling movie to spend a day or night with. Mrs. Moss (Rebecca De Mornay) seeks revenge on Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) for reporting her husband Dr. Moss for sexual harassment, which lead to the doctor's suicide and precipitating Moss' miscarriage. She poses as nanny Peyton for the Bartel family, with the intention of raising hell.

Rebecca De Mornay gave an outrageously evil performance. The plot is solid and fast-paced; the only problem I have is the method Claire used to interview Peyton for the nanny position. She only asked Peyton, "How did you become to be a nanny?" leaving out relevant questions like health, personal background, prior jobs, resumes, way with kids, etc. Other than that, I enjoyed watching this movie and especially liked Julianne Moore's character, with her making smart, acid wit remarks. I especially liked her line "You have a Harvard education, make something up."

Overall, a great mystery movie with some good action mixed in.

Grade A

The Hand that Rocks the Cradle is the cornerstone of the trashy chick flick sub-genre. Many films since have used the same formula that makes this one a success, and most have failed. The reason this film is almost a resounding success has nothing to do with the plot or characters, however, it's the way that director Curtis Hanson handles it. The man who would go on to find acclaim with the astounding L.A. Confidential directs with the utmost still, and while there are few absolutely shocking sequences in this film; you would be forgiven for thinking otherwise due to the way that Hanson handles every scene. The movie leaves a lot of room for suspense, and every instant is made the best of by the director. The plot seems rather routine these days (and it probably did back in 1992), as we see a good all-American family hire the 'perfect' babysitter. She's not quite so perfect, however, and as we watch her pull down the family she's supposed to be helping from within, this becomes abundantly clear.

One thing that makes this film hard to like for some people is the fact that almost every motivation in the film is extremely unlikely. Would you hire a babysitter who apparently 'just knew' you wanted one? Wouldn't you become suspicious when everything started going wrong after you hired her? The list goes on, it really does, and it would seem that writer Amanda Silver just wanted to portray certain plots and didn't care too much how the characters fit into them. It's also obvious that the script was written by a woman throughout, with many of the sequences being more aimed towards women. None of these bad points really harm it though, because it's so well handled that it's hard not to just sit back and enjoy yourself. The centrepiece when it comes to the stagy set pieces is definitely the one with the greenhouse, which is both psychologically pleasing and suspense filled. The acting is just fine, with Rebecca De Mornay slotting into the deranged psycho role nicely. The best thing about this film for me is definitely the way that the babysitter manipulates the children and engineers situations to her advantage. This may be trash at the end of the day, but it's fiendishly done!

Long before the acclaim of "L.A. Confidential", director Curtis Hansen offered up this trim, effectively manipulative and suspenseful film. Sciorra is a pregnant woman whose doctor (magnificently slimy de Lancie) molests her during an office visit. The ramifications of her subsequent charges bring about the entrance of De Mornay into her life. De Mornay poses as a nanny and almost immediately wreaks havoc on Sciorra's household, taking charge of it and manipulating the family, all while smiling pleasantly. The story is almost completely implausible and the credibility of the script is stretched further and further as it goes along. However, it matters not because of the sure-handed, inventive direction and the dedicated performance of De Mornay. Taking a cue from Hitchcock, much of the dirty business occurs in daylight among stark white walls and bright outdoor settings. De Mornay insinuates herself into the household and into the minds of the viewer with an unsettling and fascinating malevolence. No one is safe as she meticulously works her dread. Aside from her plots against Sciorra, her shocking behavior includes calling a mentally challenged man a 'retard' and saying the 'F' word to a grade school child. This decidedly un-PC approach is at compelling odds with Sciorra and her yuppie husband who both represent everything annoying and stereotypical about their type and status ('talking' to their kids, 'processing' everything psychologically, et al) They are well off and think they're 'on to' life, yet he's a dim bulb and she overreacts to everything possible. This makes a certain faction of the audience delight in seeing them tormented. Cutting a swath through all the bull is the stunning, fire-breathing, no-nonsense Moore as Sciorra's friend. This is one of the greatest supporting turns of the '90's. She owns every scene she's in, yet ultimately can't beat De Mornay, thus creating a terrific onscreen rivalry right from the start. Moore has never looked this wonderful again, nor essayed this brittle a role, but at least it exists as a monument to her talents at playing a ball-breaking bitch goddess. The excitement leading up to her confrontation with De Mornay is palpable (thanks in part to some great editing.) The male cast is weak. McCoy is often just plain bad and Hudson is embarrassing as a 'slow' handyman. Sciorra does well in a part that does her no favors. The film was a massive (surprise) hit, but she wasn't able to ride it to anything much afterwards. At least De Mornay was briefly lifted to a higher position in the film industry. Moore has fared the best. Zima (in her film debut!) is exceptionally cute as the daughter and does a great job. She later won a role on "The Nanny". The film inspired a raft of imitators featuring killer-sitters, killer-temps, etc... but none found the wide audience that this enjoyed. It's a credit to De Mornay (and Hanson) that despite being petite and feminine, she comes across as chilling and dangerously strong and violent.