- Release year: 1992
- Director: Curtis Hanson.
- Producer: David Madden.
- Screenplay by: Amanda Silver.
- Cinematography by: Robert Elswit.
- Music by: Graeme Revell.
Synopsis: a woman disguises herself as a nanny to avenge the loss of her baby.
Shotgun Commentary: the story that put nannies all over the world out of a job.
Review
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a 90s horror classic that simply never gets old. If women weren’t worried enough about young nannies attracting their husband’s attention, here came yet another source of stress, the nanny that will destroy your life for the sake of it, no matter how faithful your husband is.
The makings of a psycho
The feature follows Mrs. Mott’s (Rebecca De Mornay) evil plan, to destroy the woman who outed her husband as a sex offender, prompting his suicide. Because…she’d rather have him groping pregnant women in peace? Not quite, it is in fact the loss of her assets that causes her abortion, and the loss of her baby that makes her mind snap, so props to her for having her priorities right.
Of course, the devastating loss of losing a child, is accompanied by a suspiciously long photo of Claire Bartel (Annabella Sciorra) shown by the news while talking out Dr. Mott’s suicide. They talk long and hard about how Claire was the first woman to come forward and accuse Dr. Mott of assaulting her during a consultation. So, of course, Mrs. Mott decides that she is clearly the culprit of her misfortunes. Not the fact that her gynaecologist husband was a creep or anything like that…
Culprit found, Mrs. Mott assumes the name of Peyton Flanders and gets herself a job as a nanny with the intention to supplant Claire and become the mother in Claire’s family after getting rid of her. A bit like a slow-action changeling, but for the mother instead of the baby.
One can’t help but to think of all the pro-life women, trad wives, and general MAGA women when watching this film. There is always something specially depressing about seeing women pitted against women over patriarchal matters that oppress both sides equally. Kinda like seeing a pig defending burgers, or a cow wearing a leather jacket.
A proper villain
Still, Peyton decides to use her brilliant, psycho brain to concoct the most flawless, elaborate plan one can create to supplant a person, instead of using those neurons to get herself checked into a nice therapist, which would’ve been faster and easier. Then again, you need to remember that she is pretty much homeless, and the nanny gig is a live-in position, unlike therapy, which costs money and doesn’t come with accommodation. So perhaps Peyton did know what she was doing, after all…
De Mornay plays the role of psycho nanny to perfection. The use of her gaze to contest the expression of the rest of her face is chilling and absolutely fabulous at the same time. Few eyes manage to communicate such mad hatred while the rest of thee face smiles sweetly, and for that, she deserves all the praise in the world. It would’ve been frightfully easy to let her character become a ridiculous parody or a one-dimensional woman that behaves like that because “women are crazy, man”, but De Mornay’s performance, along with some fantastic writing, make her a compelling villain beginning to end.
The good guys
On the other side of the battle, you have Claire, the woman who gets gaslit by her nanny for daring to speak out against a man’s abuse. This would be a great time to bring up all the women who have dared to speak up against their abusers and have got an avalanche of hate messages from other women for daring to do so, but if you get into that rabbit hole, you might never come out, and you are here to read about The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, not about the soon-to-be-released Epstein files or all the #MeToo cases.
Sciorra plays a great Claire, juggling her naivety with relatability. This balancing act is yet another case of a very slippery slope that could’ve left the audiences with a loathsome, daft protagonist, but instead succeeds in bringing a likeable hero to root for. One that is compelling… right until she gets completely blinded by Julianne Moore’s light. Moore plays Claire’s best friend Marlene, the type of woman you want on your side when sh*t hits the fan. She is the unsung hero of the film and a complete magnet on camera, her talent upstaging everyone else in the shot.
All in all, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a wonderful psychological-horror film that is not likely to get old any time soon. An absolute masterpiece that all fans of the genre should definitely watch ASAP.
Advice to take from this movie:
- Not advice, but a pretty solid fact: Ernie Hudson is an absolute legend, and I will fight anyone who disputes that.
- Sometimes you just gotta ask yourself, “Do I really need that nanny?”
- Research how to use an inhaler before pretending to use an inhaler. You wouldn’t want to look dumb now, would you?
What’s your take? Have you watched The Hand That Rocks the Cradle? Don’t hesitate to let me know your thoughts in the comments section below, or leave a message in my contact page! For more reviews and cinema-related articles, check out the rest of my blog! 😀