WHEN THE BOUGH BREAKS
US, 2016, 107 minutes, Colour.
Morris Chestnut, Regina Hall, Romany Malco, Michael Kenneth Williams, Glenn Morshower, Theo Rossi, Jaz Sinclair.
Directed by John Casar.
Audiences will recognise the quotation from the nursery rhyme – and down will come baby, cradle and all. The title has been used for several thrillers and the film about the murderous nanny, The Hand that Rocks the Cradle.
This is a film about surrogacy. Morris Chestnut and Regina Hall portray a very comfortable couple who have suffered miscarriages and are now researching surrogacy, interviewing possible mothers. Jaz Sinclair seems to have the credentials and interviews well, the couple deciding that she is the one, especially the wife though the husband has some reservations. There are further reservations when the young woman brings her boyfriend to a meal and he appears to be particularly mercenary. The audience is probably guessing by this time that there is a scam in the background. And they will not be wrong.
The young woman ingratiates herself into the family, clashes with her boyfriend, flirts with the husband and embarrasses him with videos at work, blatant approaches.
While the couple is very prominent socially, raising a lot of money for charity, the firm discovering the videos on the husband’s computer means that he loses a particular account and is suspended from his job. In the meantime, the wife is made CEO of a catering firm.
The film moves more and more into the horror genre, revelations about the young woman’s past, sexual abuse by a foster parent, her killing him – and then a confrontation with her boyfriend and killing him as well. The wife, continually anxious about the unborn child, encourages her husband to play along with the surrogate mother, leading to a difficult birth, rescuing the child – and the death of the surrogate mother.
An African- American couple, affluent, standing in society, opting for surrogacy, and suffering some horror consequences.
1. The film as a thriller? Conspiracy? Film about family, surrogacy? Blending the themes?
2. The New Orleans setting, the vistas of the city, the atmosphere? The affluent home? The lavish interiors, the guesthouse, the grounds? The staging of the society party? The agencies for surrogacy? Anna and her home? The prenatal training? Business, the lawyer, offices? Hospitals? The musical score?
3. The title, the cradle will fall, the effect on the baby…? Anna singing the song?
4. Audience attitudes towards surrogacy, artificial insemination? Discussions, the investigations, thorough or not? The hopes of parents? Eagerness for the mother? Wariness of the Father? Interviews with the potential mother? Her boyfriend? Eliminating suspicions? The fostering of the mother, health and care, prenatal training? The possibilities of deceit, scams? The consequences? The attachment of the surrogate mother, to the child, to the father, hostility to the mother? Money issues? The legal issues?
5. John and Laura, successful couple, he at the law firm and prosecutions, she as a chef, the offer of the CEO job? Life at home? The miscarriages? The search for a surrogate mother? Choosing Anna, the lengthy interviews, Anna’s response? Her playing up to the couple? Their not finding out the detail of her past life? The investigations, the complexity, orphan, orphanage, foster parents, abuse, her killing the foster father, psychiatric condition, violent episodes, the boyfriend, the scam with him, love for him, his dominating her, the physical violence? The smooth talk at the meal with John and Laura, the plans, the use of the money?
6. The experience of the artificial insemination, the visuals on screen, the audience understanding? Laura’s presence? The effect on John? The effect on Anna?
7. The continuing pregnancy, John and Laura and supervision, the meal with Anna and Mike, the phone call, Mike and his violence, John confronting him, the restraining order, the order for his re-enlistment? His not obeying, his time with Anna, pressure on her, the plan? Anna and her violent outbursts, killing Mike?
8. John, the company, his colleague, collaboration on the case? The authorities seeing Anna? Suspicions? The sending messages, the video, John watching it in the office, the authorities bringing this against him? The ownership of the prenatal centre? His being taken off the job?
9. John and Laura, social success, the party, Anna arriving, wearing Laura stress and Laura’s reaction? Laura and the offer of the job, her time away, her return? Anna and her outbursts, the lies about John, his denial? The delay for Laura and her missing the ultrasound?
10. Anna and her increasing erratic behaviour? Laura’s concern about the baby, allowing John to pretend to love Anna, going away to the lake house, previous visits? John coming home, Anna following, seeing him with Laura, the violence of the attack? Her disappearance? The waters breaking, going to the hospital, the birth of the baby?
11. John, his friend doing the research and coming up with the information about Anna, John going to the lake house, Laura going with him, the rescue of the baby, and the violent attack, the couple in the car with the child, Anna standing in the driveway, their crashing through her?
12. The complications of the surrogacy situation, the surrogate mother, the effect on the couple, the violence inherent in what happened, one the film ending – their future?
