In the 1992 domestic thriller “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” the actress Rebecca De Mornay turned the storybook nanny into a nightmare. In the director Michelle Garza Cervera’s dated new reimagining, the nanny, Peyton, is recast as Polly (Maika Monroe). A family is, again, the target, with Polly’s lifelong financial struggles fueling her motive.
Caitlin (a convincing Mary Elizabeth Winstead, doing miracles here) is initially drawn to Polly because she’s “an actual person,” not just another rich suburban mom. At the local organic co-op in Los Angeles, she learns that Polly is struggling to find adequate housing. As they chat, Caitlin’s husband, Miguel (Raúl Castillo), suggests picking up pesto for family pasta night — oblivious to its saturated fat — prompting Polly to gently course-correct the purchase, and that nanny role is almost hers.
While De Mornay was chilling as a woman haunted by a miscarriage and her husband’s suicide, Monroe is merely chilly, lumbering like a mopey teenager stuck with reciting unintentionally funny lines that aim for sexy but kill the mood. Since this is that kind of movie, it’s hard to believe “Polly” isn’t a wink toward “polyamorous,” foreshadowing her seduction of both parents.
Unfortunately, this version treats queer desire like it’s 1992 all over again. The film suggests that until Caitlin met Polly, her lesbian desires were sidelined in favor of a heteronormative life, making Polly’s flirtation impossible to resist. When a used tampon cracks the case, it’s clear this cradle has been rocked so hard that subtlety, taste and the potential for good camp have fallen out.
The Hand That Rocks the Cradle
Rated R for gratuitous gore, sexual content, drug use and strong language. Running time: 1 hour 45 minutes. Watch it on Hulu.
The post ‘The Hand That Rocks the Cradle’ Review: Down Comes Baby appeared first on New York Times.
