Leofwine_draca
Yeah, this is a late entry in that psycho-thriller sub-genre of the early 1990s, and the second you discover that the film sat on the shelf for two years before release you know it's going to be a stinker. When actress Jessica Lange herself described it in less than complimentary terms the instinct is to hurl it onto the fire and get as far away as possible.Nevertheless, I sat through this in its entirety, glutton for punishment as I am. And it's a weak thriller for sure, in which the thrills are non-existent and the plot is even more laboured than Gwyneth Paltrow's character. Basically, she meets and falls for the perfect guy, falls pregnant and marries him, only to discover that her new mother-in-law holds more than a few dark secrets and is already obsessed with the unborn child.The feel of the movie has more in common with a lukewarm TV movie of the era than a theatrical film and indeed there's very little of interest here. Most of the film relies on acting from a very average Paltrow to get by, and her protagonist is hardly a sympathetic one. Lange is better, channelling some of the energy of the grand old matriarch psychos (think Joan Crawford in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?), but her performance alone does not a good film make.
ohlabtechguy
Just saw this on TV. I knew from the caption summary that it was supposed to be a thriller but it wasn't until the middle of the movie that the suspense began to build. At least Gwyn seemed like a real person. She wasn't unbelievably dumb or pretentious. Her evil, manipulative mother-in-law was obviously just a fictitious character that probably never existed and Jessica played it that way. The best scene in the whole movie was when Gwyn slapped Jessica. The witch deserved far more and far worse, but at least she got something. I wouldn't watch this again. It wasn't over the top enough to just laugh it off as a comedy. Like most movies, it used up 2 more hours of my precious life.
JasparLamarCrabb
Unbelievably bad. Writer/director Jonathan Darby concocts a ridiculous southern fried horror tale. Jessica Lange, channeling both Blanche Dubois AND Baby Jane Hudson, runs a horse farm and is visited by son Johnathon Schaech and new bride Gwyneth Paltrow. Oedipal mayhem ensues. Lange, unable to let Schaech go, terrorizes Paltrow. By the time Paltrow winds up in bed giving birth the film reaches a frenzied level of camp. It's always a curiosity how good actors end up in such dreck. It's a wonder if Lange, Schaech and Paltrow read the script, a half-baked amalgamation of Tennessee Williams and Tobe Hooper. While the supporting cast is populated with the dependable Hal Holbrook, Nina Foch, and Debi Mazer, they bring very little to the film. Foch is used merely to explain the motives of the deranged Lange. Lange's performance takes it's place next to Faye Dunaway's Joan Crawford in the pantheon of American Kabuki.
jotix100
Jonathan Darby is credited with the writing/directing of this misconceived movie. As an auteur, Mr. Darby, doesn't bring anything new to the medium. "Hush" proves to be a total waste as it appears Mr. Darby had nothing in the way to control the over the top campy performance of Jessica Lange.Ms. Lange is at her worst as Martha, the evil mother behind all the scheming in the film. Her love for her son, and hatred for her daughter-in-law, gives the actress an opportunity to do some of the worst emoting in any film in recent memory. Gwyneth Paltrow must be questioned for her choice of material. Didn't she smell the aroma in reading the script? Oh well, let's hope she was able to ask for millions of dollars for appearing in this turkey. Jonathan Schaech doesn't fare better. Nina Foch is the only one who comes out the best in her small role of Alice, Martha's wise mother-in-law who has seen right through what's going on.This is a film to watch with friends after having a few drinks, then one might enjoy the "masterpiece" some avid fans thought "Hush" was.
AD
