Sinclair does a good job as a seductress, but much of her acting is confined to looking goo-goo-eyed at Morris Chestnut. The penultimate scene, driven by the saintly mother-to-be Hall determined to save her baby from the evil woman (see menu above), felt abrupt, leaving Hall little time to make us feel her emotion. Hall’s character could have been much fuller which would have given her and the film more depth. Chestnut and Hall work well together, although Hall as a high-powered chef isn’t very believable. What’s good about the film is the acting - for the most part. Nor does the score, which cues the predictable suspenseful moments. The film takes place in New Orleans, with some beautiful opening shots of the landscape, but unfortunately the city is never used to add uniqueness to the well-worn plot. The rest of the film plays out as you would expect, with Anna becoming increasingly obsessed and John trying desperately to placate her to save the baby. In the meantime we discover, not to anyone’s great surprise, Anna’s fiancé Mike Mitchell (a menacing looking Theo Rossi) is abusive, and that the two had ulterior motives for Anna’s surrogacy. With their last viable embryo hanging in the balance, they engage a very young, knock-down gorgeous Anna (Jaz Sinclair) to be their surrogate.įor reasons that aren’t really clear (other than she’s hormonal), Anna becomes fixated on John.
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In this case, it’s successful do-gooder power couple John and Laura Taylor (Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall) who want, but are unable to have, children. You pick the combination: evil mom with saintly child evil mom with evil child saintly mom pitted against crazy woman saintly mom pitted against crazy woman who is after mom’s children. Don’t worry, the film isn’t a remake, but it might as well be since the basic story line is one we see often and reads like a takeout menu. That’s just one of the many problems with the film.įirst is the film’s title, “When the Bough Breaks.” It’s so familiar you’re sure you’ve seen another film by the same name. That seems to be the takeaway from Sony Pictures' latest entry into the drama/suspense/thriller category, “When the Bough Breaks.” And if the woman in this case also grew up in foster care AND was sexually abused, then it’s not surprising the combination turns her into a psycho stalker.