Hush (1998)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Jonathan Darby

Writers (WGA):

Jonathan Darby (story)
Jonathan Darby (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

6 March 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Don't Breathe A Word

Plot:

Helen is the young girlfriend of good-looking Jackson Baring. When Helen gets pregnant and marries Jackson...

Plot Keywords:

Bathtub | Dysfunctional Family | Farm | Doctor | Burglar

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Jessica Lange	...	Martha Baring
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Helen Baring
Johnathon Schaech	...	Jackson Baring
Nina Foch	...	Alice Baring
Debi Mazar	...	Lisa
Kaiulani Lee	...	Sister O'Shaughnessy
David Thornton	...	Gavin
Hal Holbrook	...	Dr. Franklin Hill
Richard Lineback	...	Hal Bentall
Richard Kohn	...	Clayton Richards
Faith Potts	...	Georgina Richards
Tom Story	...	Priest
Jolene Carroll	...	Church Warden
Jacob Press	...	Usher
Joe Inscoe	...	Doctor

Also Known As:

Bloodline (USA) (working title)
Kilronan (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some violence, sensuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby SR

Certification:

Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PG (British Columbia/Manitoba) | Iceland:12 | USA:PG-13 (certificate #34338) | South Korea:18 | Netherlands:12 (TV rating) | Netherlands:16 (DVD rating) | Argentina:16 | Australia:M | Belgium:KT | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:16 | Mexico:B | Peru:14 | Portugal:M/12 (video premiere) | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:11

Filming Locations:

Charlottesville, Virginia, USA

Company:

TriStar Pictures

Goofs:

Continuity: When Helen goes to the barn and finds the locket in the drawer, Martha catches her. When Helen hears Martha, she closes her hand around the locket above the open drawer. In the next shot, every drawer in the dresser is closed.

Quotes:

Martha Baring: [Just after turning on the cold water tab of the steam bath where old, ill and heart-weak Alice is immobilized] Now you STAY AWAY from my boy!
Alice Baring: Ahh... Ahhhhhh...
Martha Baring: You understand?
Alice Baring: AHHH... AAAAAAHHHHHH!
Martha Baring: I'll take that as a AAAHHHH... YES!
[She turns the tab off]
Martha Baring: Goodbye Alice.
[Martha leaves the bathroom]
Martha Baring: [When leaving the retirement home Martha bumps into a nun in charge of care. Talking about Alice and changing her anger in a gentle, lovely attitude] Oh! Sister... She wants a little more time, she says it helps her joints...
Sister O'Shaughnessy: She's incorrigible! I'll give her five more minutes.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in I Want Someone to Eat Cheese With (2006)

Soundtrack:

Auld Lang Syne

Could have been a Hot B-movie!!

Everybody should just relax and enjoy watching a red hot, middle aged Momma's sexual jealousy over her beautiful daughter in law. The photography was great, loved the rural location (without the stupid horses), and Gwyneth and Jessica look as good as they ever have. The problem is that the director tried too hard for believability, and that resulted in a very average, plodding, sometimes laughably bad movie. If they had taken it over the top, like what you find in good novels, (torture, perversion), then we would have had a classic.

Its a shame they held back because Jessica and Gwyneth looked amazing. Who cares if their performances weren't great? Their screen presence made up for it. They were ripe for a deliciously violent, twisted older woman/younger woman B-movie and the director blew it. (Check out Piper Laurie and Sissy Spacek in "Carrie." They set the standard for over the top, twisted mother-daughter action.)