When the Bough Breaks (1994)

Surprisingly incoherent and boring

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

i must have seen a different film!!

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

I never forgot this one after all these years, but it was hard-to-find on DVD. And just now I was quite surprised to see all the reviews, since I considered it to be a forgotten movie. And these reviews do state what I was going to point out re the unlikeliness of the institutionalized character being able to write, so OK, I'll just say that Ally Walker was absolutely ideal for the part, and that without her in it, I'd never have gone for the movie in the first place. She is very, very attractive and obviously very smart. And I do feel like a fool now because I was going to talk about the lonely lead character with the scars on her back in this darkly bleak thriller, but I'd just be parroting what the other reviewers brought forth. I'll just mention that the dog's leash was tied to the ice cream van, so when it drove off at speed, there was supposed to be another upsetting sight, but instead the dog just disappeared, a major goof! There were material here that could have spawned an entire TV series, instead there was a bit of a rush towards the finale. And I fail to make the link between child molestation, and the doctor who did hand transplants - two separate cases, right? As for the reviewer who thought Ally's character's chain-smoking was unnecessary, I disagree. It's all clearly linked to bad memories, as if she's chasing away the cold inside her, despite it being summer. By the way, the movie doesn't have the remotest summery feel to it, despite all those July references. All in all, a remarkable performance by Ally Walker, but there should have been more! And who is the woman on the poster/DVD box cover? Fortunately, the character does not look like that!

The story was excellent. In fact, it was downright scary. The plot and storyline are unlike any other movie I've seen. Quite unique. In fact, if this movie was based on a published book, I'd like to know the name of it. Perhaps the missing parts of the movie, might be in that book. The story came from somewhere, so we need to find more about the source.There are indeed story lines in this movie which appear, then disappear without a word such as the scars on the investigators back. Evidently, she was a victim of unimaginable abuse based on the scars and perhaps her claustrophobia, but this storyline simply disappeared without explanation. She says a little bit about it when speaking to Jordan in one scene.The storyline behind the killer, his public life, his secret life and past events concerning his children was just barely enough to connect the movie, but should have had a lot more depth to it and should have included scenes regarding the births and the meltdown of the surgeon for appropriate flashbacks.The chain smoking of the main character, the lead investigator, was to the point of being disturbing, distasteful and obnoxious. It distracted from the movie and actually interfered with her role. It had no place in the movie and did nothing but get in the way.Serious flaws were also made concerning the character of a boy (these reviewers need to get over the obvious fact that the actor was a female which was done to create the effect of twins with telepathic links). The boy is NOT autistic. He is an "Elective" mute... that means he "Chose" not to speak. But they show him writing to communicate... yet he had been locked up in a psychiatric cell since he was 4 and was never schooled... thus, there is no way he would know how to read or write under those conditions. For the psychiatric hospital to have buried him in a basement room, unable to see out and the only inhabitant of an entire section of the hospital was simply over the edge. No institution would waste money to maintain heating, cooling, lighting, cleaning and supervision of an entire wing for one person. The conditions were simply ridiculous.Basically, this movie looks like it had no director or direction. It just looks like someone showed up everyday to collect money for that role but never bothered to do any work... so the cast and crew were left on their own to film the movie. It would have been a directors job to ensure the movie did not have these dead ends and errors and to ensure continuity throughout. Did anyone bother to preview the movie after it was edited? It doesn't look like it. Too many missing explanations and errors. I looked up the director, Michael Cohn and I was right. He is a terrible "non" director. He only directed about 2 other movies and was the writer/director for this one. This could have been a superb movie with a decent director. It is obvious that this one had serious problems and so the cast and crew did the best they could without direction.Even with the flaws, it is a terrific movie. Unique story and an "edge of the seat" thriller. Highly recommended. Be sure not to mistake this movie for the other one of the same name with Ted Danson. If it says Danson... you have the wrong movie. Many times, even the cable channel directory mixes up the two when they write the description on the schedule.

When the Bough breaks Really is a Film that could Compare to "Silence of the Lambs". It has all of The Criteria. Good Scares, A Freaky Killer, and Scenes that Remain in your Head for Years to Come. Of Course, The killer is a Complete Genius, and he Uses his Knowledge of Trickery to Fool You and Keep you on The Edge of Your Seat from Beginning to End. Without Doubt a Five Star Movie. Fans of Hannibal will not be Disappointed. Fans of This Movie should see "Copycat".

She plays an attractive, but misfit, woman--who is competent at her job, but has no romance. The men around her are either officially correct (Sheen) or ridiculing her behind her back (the rest of the cops). Because of her lack of feminine wiles, she is a loner, and can relate to the isolated boy whom she bonds with.I would recommend the film, if only for Walker's performance.