Hush (1998)

A couple with jobs and apartment in NYC, decide to move to his mom's farm, get married and have the baby there. They can also make the changes to get a better price for the farm. However, there's something seriously wrong with his mom.

Director:

Jonathan Darby

Writers:

Jonathan Darby (story), Jonathan Darby (screenplay)

Stars:

Jessica Lange, Gwyneth Paltrow, Johnathon Schaech

1 win & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jessica Lange	...	Martha Baring
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Helen Baring
Johnathon Schaech	...	Jackson Baring
Nina Foch	...	Alice Baring
Debi Mazar	...	Lisa
Kaiulani Lee	...	Sister O'Shaughnessy
David Thornton	...	Gavin
Hal Holbrook	...	Dr. Franklin Hill
Richard Lineback	...	Hal Bentall
Richard Kohn	...	Clayton Richards
Faith Potts	...	Georgina Richards
Tom Story	...	Priest
Jolene Carroll	...	Church Warden
Jacob Press	...	Usher
Joe Inscoe	...	Doctor

Storyline

Helen is the young girlfriend of good-looking Jackson Baring. When Helen gets pregnant and marries Jackson, they decide to move to his family farm, Kilronan, and have a baby there. But his mother Martha, who lives there, starts to do weird things, and obviously she's not too friendly to Helen.

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Plot Keywords:

farm | borderline personality disorder | injection | bare chested male | boy | 

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Taglines:

When Jackson brought home his new bride, she was everything a mother would kill for.

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some violence, sensuality and brief strong language

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 March 1998 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bloodline

Filming Locations:

Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$21,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$5,742,431, 8 March 1998, Wide Release

Gross USA:

$13,513,622, 29 May 1998

Company Credits

Production Co:

TriStar Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

SDDS Dolby SR

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Many scenes in the trailer did not make the final cut because they re-shot the movie almost two years after it was first finished. The original version had, among other changes, a climatic fight between the two ladies with one dying. It was re-shot following bad feedback from test audiences.

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Goofs

When Helen is nude, and jumps back into bed after meeting Martha Baring, when the camera changes she is wearing shorts as she covers up in the bed.

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Quotes

[about Helen's wedding ring]
Alice: Let's see the handcuff.

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Connections

Referenced in I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)

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Soundtracks

Auld Lang Syne
Traditional; lyrics by Robert Burns
Played and sung at the New Year's party

User Reviews

Hush

Jessica Lange commenced her career by following in the (admittedly light) footsteps of Fay Wray. She seems determined to end it by stomping in the heavier footfalls of middle-period Joan Crawford. As the cyclonic star of this film, Lange runs the gamut. She flings her arms around, tugs at her hair, reverts to that coy, sideways glance that implies she's only about, oh, forty five, bellows out in growling chest tones, sobs hysterically - she does, to state it simply, the lot.

Which leaves her co-stars understandably bewildered. Gwyneth Paltrow manages to look more annoyed than frightened, and when, in the best Scooby Doo manner, she neatly ties up the loose threads of the plot, annoyance gives way to abject boredom. With her dead fish eyes and droning monotone, Gwyn obviously wants the whole thing over with more than we do. Quite an achievement.

And few could blame her. Of all the silly premises that have been put on film, the monster mother is surely the silliest. Its mighty hard to believe that Jessica's Ken doll son has managed to go thirty years without once telling the old cow to put a sock in it. Perhaps I'm a bit obtuse but I still don't quite get the bit about the murder with the suction pump (or whatever it was.) At any rate if some post natal, gormless drip can figure it out surely it shouldn't be taxing the police too much to make an arrest.

That would imply real life of course, and Hush has nothing to do with that. If you're in the market for an aged, raging southern belle then you can't go past this, but have a look at the genuine article - Joan Crawford in "Queen Bee" - first.