Hush [Blu-ray] Reviews
Hush [Blu-ray]
Jessica Lange, Academy Award winner (Tootsie, Best Supporting Actress, 1982; Blue Sky, Best Actress,1994), and Gwyneth Paltrow star in this intricate, intense thriller about a young bride who becomes the emotional pawn of her controlling mother-in-law. Without family of her own, Helen is initially charmed by her impressive in-law and the sprawling estate where she lives. But behind the storybook scene lie dangerous secrets and dark motives. With the chilling undertones of Rosemary’s Baby, Hush is a nightmarish lullaby of a maternal love that leads into madness.In the tradition of Die! Die! My Darling comes this tale of a young heroine made miserable by a lover’s eccentric relations. Gwyneth Paltrow plays a New Yorker who marries a handso
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Southern Maternal Love Gone Plumb Mad!,
“Hush” serves up a down-home southern “charm” that would put Oedipus himself to shame.
Only child, Jackson Baring, played by Johnathan Schaech is the quintessential and clueless man-child mama’s boy. His love interest and the first girlfriend he has ever brought home to meet his mama (no wonder!), Helen, played quite off-kilter by Gwyneth Paltrow.
They journey to the Baring’s Thoroughbred Horse Farm, Kilronan for Christmas to meet “mama”. Jessica Lange, is mama Martha Baring. Lange superbly but quite over the top plays Jackson’s demanding, clinging, cross between Queen Jocasta & Blanche Du Bois on crack mama. Martha fawns, flirts, grabs, and kisses on her only baby boy in quite a non-maternal way through most of the film. Martha is obsessed and quite in love with her own son and has done some “doozies” to keep him where she wants him.
Hal Halbrook has a nice couple of scenes as obstetrician, Dr. Franklin Hill and ol’ dame, Nina Foch (Spartacus, The Ten Commandments, Scaramouche) turns in a terrific performance as Great Aunt Alice Baring that has been on to Martha for years and knows exactly what she is capable of.
Torture, drugging, murder, lust & incestuous thoughts and deeds ensue! A great thriller with decent performances and a strong storyline all the way around.
Happy Watching and Be Careful Of Those Momster-In-Laws!
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|WISH THERE WAS A DIRECTOR’S CUT…,
I’m a HUGE Johnathon Schaech fan, I watch everything he’s in, good or bad. I’ve seen Hush about a dozen times, and I’ve finally noticed something. In the trailer for the movie (which is on my DVD of FINDING GRACELAND) there’s so much more to the movie that’s missing from the actual cut we see…including a huge fire, someone being taken out of the house on a stretcher, and Johnathon standing in front of an ambulance, holding up a locket (resembling the one Gwynneth wears in the movie.) So I rewatched the movie and noted that in ALL scenes that Jackson’s father is mentioned, Gwynneth’s wearing a wig…leading me to believe the whole story was changed…rewritten to include this story of a father who was killed by Jessica Lange. …this movie had so much potential and lost it all with this ending. I WISH THEY’D RELEASE A DIRECTOR’S CUT! At least we could see some of that good action they enticed us with in the trailer! Until there’s a director’s cut….this movie only gets 3 stars from me!
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|Underrated,
I saw Hush in theaters when I was about 11. I remember seeing the trailer on TV, thinking wow this movie is going to be a classic! Well, I saw the movie and I still thought it was a classic–possibly because it was my first exposure to Jessica Lange, who gives an indelible performance.
Although many have said Hush is a forgettable film, I believe it is quite the contrary. 1997 was a few years ago and this film stands firmly within my memory. It really is an excellent throwback to the Joan Crawford and Bette Davis thrillers of the 1960s. First, there is beautiful cinematography, a lush score, and excellent acting (besides Gwyneth Paltrow, who positively sucks in this film!). Its true that you long for Lange to hit Paltrow with a lamp, to stop her insufferable whining! This is a far cry from her excellent performance in the recent Sylvia.
I guess the thing you will love about Hush is that it is fun to watch. It is not garbage like most people would have you believe, but in fact a very well-made, well-acted, classy thriller with a great score and a great star (Lange). And, for the record, the plot is great!
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