The Hand That Rocks the Cradle Parent Guide

After the birth of her second child, lawyer Caitlyn Morales (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) finds herself stressed and falling behind – but luckily, she bumps into out-of-work nanny Polly (Maika Monroe), who is more than happy to care for the kids. It seems like a match made in heaven, and Polly appears to be a consummate professional. Even better, Caitlyn’s older daughter, Emma (Mileiah Vega) loves Polly. Before too long, though, Caitlyn begins to doubt her new nanny – it’s always something small, something explicable, but the unease lingers. Her husband, Miguel (Raul Castillo) chalks it up to her anxiety and doesn’t see any issues – which doesn’t make Caitlyn feel any better.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle is a movie you’ll watch for the performances: Mary Elizabeth Winstead and Maika Monroe both bring a lot to their roles, and despite the fairly generic and predictable course of the plot, they manage to keep things on track. This film is a remake of the 1992 film of the same name, and while this version has changed most of the details and personal intrigues, the outline is pretty recognizable. This film has also moved the setting from Seattle to Los Angeles, just to throw you off the scent.

Despite earning “D”s in almost every content category, the movie barely slides into most of those grades and isn’t consistently explicit. It includes just enough negative content to earn the “D” rating, but it doesn’t wallow in any of it. The exception is the violence, which despite being relatively infrequent, is extremely graphic. Watching a character’s skull come apart while they’re being bludgeoned with a baseball bat will put you right off your ice cream.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle falls pretty comfortably into the middle of the road for thrillers – unless you’re a massive Mary Elizabeth Winstead fan. The biggest headache is that the plot sometimes relies on characters just being uncharacteristically stupid, which is a common problem in movie scripts, but one that manages to stand out in this production. All that notwithstanding, I don’t dislike the film. The strong performances and patient plotting make for a reasonably tense little thriller, with just a splash of brutal violence to keep you on your toes.

About author

Kirsten Hawkes

Kirsten Hawkes has a BA in Political Science and English and has worked in international development and medical education and marketing. Kirsten enjoys reading, watching movies, and debating politics with her husband and sometimes unwilling children.