This is How Movies Should Be Made

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Absolutely brilliant

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

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.

On July, 4th in Houston, a teenager finds a human hand in the sewer. Captain Swaggert (Martin Sheen) is investigating the discovery of seven hands, each one precisely severed and with a number tattooed on the palm, along many years but without any lead. The highly qualified Special Investigator Audrey Macleah (Ally Walker) is assigned to join the team and give support to the investigation. When the police department receives a call from a medical doctor in an institution, Audrey visits him and the doctor introduces the autistic boy Jordan Thomas (Tara Subkoff) to her, disclosing seven hands that the boy had drawn on the wall. Audrey dedicates her attention to Jordan and discovers that he is connected to the serial-killer."When the Bough Breaks" is a surprisingly solid thriller, with a well developed dark story and a good conclusion. Ally Walker has a great performance in the role of a professional with many specializations, but also with a trauma from her childhood. Tara Subkoff is also amazing with her double-role. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "Assassinatos Macabros" ("Macabre Murders")

When the Bough breaks Really is a Film that could Compare to "Silence of the Lambs". It has all of The Criteria. Good Scares, A Freaky Killer, and Scenes that Remain in your Head for Years to Come. Of Course, The killer is a Complete Genius, and he Uses his Knowledge of Trickery to Fool You and Keep you on The Edge of Your Seat from Beginning to End. Without Doubt a Five Star Movie. Fans of Hannibal will not be Disappointed. Fans of This Movie should see "Copycat".

In low budget thrillers we generally don't expect to find genuine shock and depth of characterization. But this film has both. What is particularly surprising is the level of complexity suggested in Ally Walker's portrayal of the lead character Audrey McLeah. The film's script in and of itself doesn't sufficiently account for the undercurrents of alienation and fear that we glimpse in the Audrey character. However, Ally Walker, in what was a fairly early role in her career, manages to convey pain through restraint. It's remarkable work in a vehicle that doesn't necessarily require it.The film even has some powerful poetic touches such as the scars on Audrey's back, scars that resonate all the more powerfully because they appear in one scene and then vanish while the viewer continues to wonder about their origins and about the many kinds of scars that are evident in the film. Here once again Ally Walker demonstrates an impressive skill for sensitive understatement.