This movie is, perhaps, one of the most famous thriller of the eighties. It starts well, with a babysitter full of lousy intentions integrating into the bosom of a family she intends to destroy slowly, like a snake that suffocates its prey before killing. The problem is the director (Curtis Hanson) and the screenwriter weren't able to properly exploit the potential inherent in such an issue. There is so much that could be better and more intense! But, instead of a more fearless approach, they preferred to bet on usual thriller clichés and the result is obvious: the film has quality and very good scenes but its generally predictable and warm, never getting to fully fulfill our expectations. The ending is exaggerated and a bit out of place, when compared to the film itself.Rebecca De Mornay is one of the reasons to give this film a chance: the actress truly strives and manages to build a character that perfectly balances purest cruelty with the most angelic appearance we could imagine. She looks like a saint, but she's capable of things that would make the Devil laugh with satisfaction, and that duality makes her very appealing and sinister. Annabella Sciorra is the typical girl in distress and her character seems not to have been so elaborate or to have been thought of as the antithesis of De Mornay's character. I think this strategy didn't work out very well, as Sciorra's character is too flat and empty. Ernie Hudson looks great but Julianne Moore and Matt McCoy have small characters and they haven't had a chance to show real talent.

I'd be wanting to see this film for some time, and knowing that Curtis Hanson was directing, I was anticipating a very solid ride.Sadly, I was more than a little disappointed with the outcome.Much of the problem of this film lies with the script, I believe. For me, The Hand That Rocks The Cradle represents the absolute epitome of formula-driven filmmaking.While Fatal Attraction, an earlier example of the 'person from hell' thriller subgenre is tightly-structured, it nevertheless managed to be more than just a formula film, by offering nuanced portrayals of protagonist & antagonist. Though terrifying, Glenn Close's Alex was, for my money, still a rather conflict and even sympathetic character through much of the story, as she fights a losing battle against her growing obsession. It elevated the material and made the villain not simply one-dimensional.In this film, however, I found it very hard to feel any sympathy at all for Peyton. Her double losses of child and husband at the beginning of the film were presumably anticipated to generate a level of sympathy for the character, but it was not the case for me. As soon as she enters as Peyton, she demonstrates a single-minded intent and maliciousness not out of step with a moustache-twirling bond villain.To some extent, characters in a film will always function in service of the plot, but I think the secret of good writing is to make it less obvious - that each character's choices feel organic to their character and not simply existing to push the plot forward piece by piece - unless of course you're making a spoof or parody.I read in one review that the screenwriter wrote this script as her thesis during film school, and it very much feels like a student of films like Fatal Attraction and others doing a carefully-planned paint by numbers incarnation of the psycho person thriller.

Curtis Hanson's "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" comes out of the starting gate with guns blazing. It is an interesting film with the theme of not everything is as it seems or never judge a book by its cover. Peyton, seemingly looking like a nice lady, is devious, dangerous, and downright frightening and Solomon, though slow due to learning disabilities, is immediately judged as a threat on not one but TWO occasions when he only has the best of intentions for the family. If anything, its much more than a thriller, its an examination on how we all should revisit our opinions of people well past first impressions. "Not everyone who smiles in your face is your friend".I found this story to be very compelling. My favorite aspect was the psychological mind games instigated by the character of Mrs. Mott. We see that evil systematically erodes trust of others before it pursues the outright disstruction of its prey. I love the heroic actions of Clare, and the other individuals in the family are very endearing. The acting in this film is superb. Rebecca De Mornay is chilling as the psychotic caregiver. She brings a malevolence yet oddly empathetic portrayal to a role that could have easily degenerated into campy material. The woman portraying Clare is excellent, and the little girl who plays the young daughter is great. I also love the man who portrays Solomon, a mentally challenged yet wise gardener and fix-it man. This movie is one that should be watched for entertainment and for a stunning portrait of the universal struggle of good and evil.Overall rating: 9 out of 10.

The hand that rocks the cradle is a really entertaining 1990s thriller starring Rebecca De Mornay from risky business. First off, the acting in this movie is spot on from every member, and I really thought they gave a good strong performances all the way through. I also thought that the writing was good, not too cheesy or cliché, in other words, not phoned in. Yes, this thriller may have some resemblance to fatal attraction or another movie like that, but I also thought it contained a lot of originality. This is also one of Julianne Moore's very first performances in a film, with which she of course handled well, as she does in nearly every one of her movies. Some might call the pacing and the events that happened throughout the movie formulaic, but I actually found them thrilling and entertaining. Ernie Hudson from Ghostbusters doesn't have a huge role here but he does have one and I think he played it well. Even the little girl, Emma played her role well. All in all, this is a pretty entertaining and thrilling suspense movie that I do recommend. 8/10.