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The Hand That Rocks the Cradle More at IMDbPro »

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89 reviews in total

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36 out of 40 people found the following review useful:
The Nanny From Hell, 22 March 2006

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from United States

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.

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18 out of 21 people found the following review useful:
Rebecca de Mornay is the nanny from hell...scary thriller..., 31 December 2006

Author: Neil Doyle from U.S.A.

You have to hand it to the makers of THE HAND THAT ROCKS THE CRADLE--once the story starts to unravel, you have to stay tuned to find out how this manipulative bitch will get her comeuppance. It's as simple as that. We know from the start that she has evil intentions, but we never know how evil they are until she starts a series of manipulative acts that demonstrate how cunning and remorseless she is.

REBECCA de MORNAY is so convincingly evil that you have to wonder why her career didn't skyrocket after this. It's a performance worthy of award consideration, but both she and the film itself have been largely forgotten. None of the supporting players, with the exception of JULIANNE MOORE, have become household names but they're all quite effective.

The ending may be somewhat predictable--and most welcome when it finally comes--but it's still stylishly done and a satisfying conclusion to a tale of household terror when a nanny's rage goes amok because of an incident in her past involving a woman whom she perceives as ruining her husband's life. Sure, it's been done before, but never quite so cunningly presented.

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24 out of 34 people found the following review useful:
A Film That Rocks the Audience, 10 October 2002
Author: Poseidon-3 from Cincinnati, OH

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.

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14 out of 18 people found the following review useful:
Rocked my seat, 19 July 2004
Author: OllieSuave-007 from Sacramento, California USA

This is a nice chilling thriller to spend a day or night before the television screen. Rebecca De Mornay is outrageously evil as "Peyton Flanders," making you wonder with suspense what wicked deed she has planned up her sleeve. And, the part where Claire Bartel, played by Annabella Sciorra, starts suspecting Peyton's evil doings is spectacular. This is one of those films that captures your suspense and your suspicion, making this film exciting and heart pounding.

With this film, De Mornay poses as a nanny for Claire Bartel (Sciorra) character's family, with the intention of raising hell for Bartel and stealing away her husband and children.

The plot is good; the only problem I have is the method Claire (Sciorra), interviews Peyton (De Mornay) for the nanny job. She only asked "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 enjoy watching this movie again and again. This is also one of Julianne Moore's first featured films. She shines in this movie, making smart, acid wit remarks. I especially like her line "You have a Harvard education, make something up." Good movie-plenty of action as well.

Grade A-

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15 out of 20 people found the following review useful:
One Heck of a Thriller., 5 April 2004

Author: Herag Halli from Heraganahalli, India

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Rebecca De Mornay and Julianne Moore is what Hollywood is all about-Stars who look like Stars and act like Stars. In fact Moore, went to fame and fortune after this movie. This is incredibly gripping movie with some fine acting by the cast including the actor playing the retarded handyman. The casting is superb and the direction by Hansen is near perfect, but, it is Rebecca De Mornay (Peyton) with her ever conniving and double faced sweet talk that steals the show (even the red apple takes the brunt of her vengeance!) She thrives in her role and a role that is custom made for her. The "Clair" character does so well with her asthmatic attacks, that even a real patient could not have done better. This movie has it all, beautiful and glamorous actresses, suspense, thrill and one of the best movies that I had the pleasure to watch and watch I did eleven times!!

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15 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
Everything was fine until they hired that babysitter..., 2 October 2005

Author: The_Void from Beverley Hills, England

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!

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14 out of 22 people found the following review useful:
Put your Hand on the Cradle and Rock now!, 28 December 2000

Author: Sharkey360 from Philippines

The Hand That Rocks The Cradle is a very solid thriller thanks to naturalism and realism. This is one of the best thrillers ever made, and it's just too bad it did not get the attention and praise it deserves. For one thing, we've seen many thrillers that lacked realism while some were not thrilling at all.

HTRTC has it all. A solid story, solid cast, good directing and best of all, a high level of realism. The story can actually happen to any family in America, or anywhere in the world. The cast is great, and even though there's basically no "big name phenomenon" (well, Julian Moore's now very popular but not yet here) in this film, the performances are very good. In fact, great! Rebecca De Mornay, who's young and very beautiful in this film, has the best performance as the smart-beautiful-deadly Peyton. She's very convincing as both wife and nanny, as well as temptress and killer!

Take note of some of the "sinful scenes" in this movie. Some scenes can be very disturbing (not disgusting) but if you're matured enough, then you'll get over this movie well. The "sinful scenes" do make a wake-up call in your family life. Heck, better watch out for those evil nannies!

I highly recommend watching this movie, even though it does not have any big superstardom at all. No special effects, no high tech gimmicks, no big super stars, just a great story to watch. What are you waiting for? Put your Hand on the Cradle and Rock!

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5 out of 5 people found the following review useful:
Great suspense, predictable plot, 12 September 2007

Author: gcd70 from Melbourne, Australia

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

Good thriller that tells the story of a vengeful woman who, by taking the position of nanny, seeks revenge on the family she holds responsible for the loss of her husband and her unborn child.

Rebecca De Mornay is very convincing as Peyton, the widow whom we firmly believe is capable of anything, while Ernie Hudson is good as mentally disabled social worker Solomon. Graeme Revell's music is good too, even if it is reminiscent of Howard Shore's "Silence of the Lambs".

The plot is predictable from the outset, and relies solely on suspense. Director Curtis Hanson makes this work well though, and keeps us on the edge of our seats.

Friday, May 22, 1992 - Knox District Centre

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11 out of 17 people found the following review useful:
good psychological thriller marred by a few cliches, 6 May 2002

Author: m_madhu from chennai, india

the hand that rocks the cradle was a very gripping psychological thriller, there is hardly any action or violence in the movie till the very end. the suspense and the thrills are at a very psychological level and this is what makes this movie rise above the ordinary, rebecca de mornay as the psychologically imbalanced nanny is terrific. the script was surprisingly good for a large part and the thrills were built up very convincingly.

there is obviously a lot of situations that defy belief, but with a little suspension of disbelief, they can be accepted. the cast is ordinary, and the performances of the young couple was very amateurish, as also the performance of ernie hudson as the mentally challenged person.

this movie would have been a lot more thrilling and dark and satisfying if it had not towards the end fallen in a whole deluge of cliches and predictable lame movie ending traps. call me sick, but i think the movie would have been far better with a darker ending.

on the whole a thrilling 8!

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10 out of 16 people found the following review useful:
An entertaining and suspenseful drama, 26 June 2005

Author: NewEnglandPat from Virginia

This domestic thriller was a box-office hit despite its mid-level marquee pull and is entertaining and delivers plenty of suspense and shocks along the way. A vengeful widow who has lost her husband to a suicide and suffers a miscarriage plans to get even with the woman who caused the trouble by filing a sexual molestation suit against her husband. Rebecca de Mornay is the evil nanny who plots her revenge with relish, her satisfaction obvious as her plans begin to bear fruit. The nanny is not swayed by the innocence of the young girl or the newborn baby she is hired to care for and intends to destroy the entire family. Naturally, the parents are clueless as to what is going on until much later, while de Mornay methodically turns the household into her own domain, holding it in a grip of fear. Annabella Sciorra is the wife and mother who confronts de Mornay in the final moments. Graeme Revell contributes a nice music score.

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