Cebalord Very best movie i ever watch

ThiefHott Too much of everything

Colibel Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Lechuguilla Up until near the end this film held my attention. There's plenty of suspense. Set in Houston, the story involves a hotshot young investigator named Audrey Macleah (Ally Walker) assigned to assist police Captain Swaggert (Martin Sheen) in a grisly case of severed hands.The plot plays out in segments corresponding to dates, beginning on July 4th and spans a period of about two weeks. During this time, Macleah interviews a young boy in a mental ward, chases a prospective child killer, and ends up in a spooky old house that contains some spooky surprises. This thriller genre film sports foreboding background sounds and music to enhance the scary visuals.Unfortunately, the ending collapses into a pile of unresolved issues and an incoherent resolution that left me confused. It's like the scriptwriter knew exactly where he wanted to take the story, but then near the end got his pages all mixed up, or lost, and used pages from another script to complete this one. Baffling.The casting and performance of Walker is also baffling. She comes across as jittery and abrasive, in marked contrast to Sheen who gives a convincingly realistic performance. But maybe Walker's problem relates more to the Director's style. The film exhibits good production design and color cinematography. Amplified sound effects convey an appropriate immediacy to scenes.Despite the script's loose ends and poor ending, "When The Bough Breaks" is still worth a one-time watch due to superb suspense through most of the film.

SnoopyStyle It's July 4th Houston. A dismembered hand is washed out from the sewer. Captain Swaggert (Martin Sheen) leads the investigation of seven neatly severed hands with tattooed numbers. Special Investigator Audrey Macleah (Ally Walker) is a profiler from the State Crime Division and brought in to aid the team. The state mental hospital has a mute boy Jordan Thomas (Tara Subkoff) with mysterious lines around his wrists who draws hands on the walls. Macleah suffers from claustrophobia. Jordan writes the name of Jennifer Lynn Eben, twin daughter of Dr. Douglas Eben (Ron Perlman).It's fascinating that Ally Walker is playing a profiler a couple years before getting her TV role as a profiler. This is a mix bag of interesting characters and unreal over-stylized characteristics. One can't go wrong with Martin Sheen. Ally Walker is pretty good as this driven profiler character. Giving her claustrophobia is a nice touch. The teen in the mental hospital is too much and too cliché. I wish the case is better written for these characters' sake. The scenes in the hospital are too slow and the movie drags in too many places. This movie doesn't have the flashiness and I actually don't mind. Although I wish it is edited better with some semblance of style.

rm.bentley I have to thank the 'Further Attractions' trailer section on my American Yakuza DVD for finding this gem. My expectations weren't exactly high when I hit the play button but I was utterly hooked from the movie's start (when a young couple make a gruesome discovery) up until its nail biting finale. With an engaging story line, stylish and assured directing and writing, photography and music that perfectly blends with the mood of the story and good performances from all the cast I found this film an uncomfortable pleasure to watch. I'm not one that's easily scared but I can tell you my was heart pounding during the final 15 minutes of the film. If you enjoy a good thriller I would highly recommend buying the DVD... NOW!

Gary Stedman Not being much of a fan of this type of thriller, I started to watch this film one day, years ago here in the UK with little interest. While watching it I was struck by the rarity of a character like Audrey Macleah, played in such a understated manner by a actress I had never heard of, never having even seen a tv series called Profiler at that time.The films plot seems to be intelligent and well crafted, with enough depth to keep you on edge until the end. The final act at the Eben house is particulary suspenseful. I lack the credentials to say whenever the film is a good example of its genre but must return to Audrey Macleah/Ally Walker. The manner in which the character is portrayed as a brilliant academic, although lacking in confidence and with her own past demons just hiding under the surface is masterful. A nice touch is the way in which these are left unresolved, rather than a more typical, heavy handed approach. One of my favourites, and well worth watching.