Film
The act of surrogacy is one that takes a certain person. A person who can carry a baby to term, for the sole purpose of then handing that baby over to the biological parents. But the law is a tricky beast here, with some areas that can spell heartache and trouble for the parents-to-be.
So, what happens when the surrogate becomes dangerously obsessed with the father-to-be? Are there ulterior motives at play?
Several of these themes, and possible incidents are explored in When the Bough Breaks. The film starts off at a calm, happy pace, introducing us to a happily married couple, who have just found the perfect person to carry their baby. But, things are not as they seem, as obsession mounts, and relationships are put to the test.
When the Bough Breaks soon shifts gear to a thriller. And while there are a few awkward moments, there are no real moments of tension so great, one is afraid to move, or breath. These moments could have been explored a bit further, further rounding out the crazed moments of human desire, and emotion.
The film pales ever so slightly in comparison to others of similar plot and genre, but remains entertaining, and certainly one that will keep many a viewer engrossed in the story, right to the very end.
Disc
Overall, the disc is of a good technical quality. While light on bonus features, the commentary track is a good one to include.
When the Bough Breaks is available now, to purchase on disc, in South Africa.
Video
Video is encoded at a high average bitrate. There are no visible artefacts on screen, and no visible colour bleed. Colour are vibrant in relevant scenes, and detail maintained sufficiently in darker scenes.
Viewers with the relevant hardware or software can scale up to a larger or higher resolution screen, should they wish.
Audio
Audio is presented in a Dolby Digital 5.1 mix, and is encoded at a high average bitrate. Dialogue is clear via the centre speaker, with the front left and right carrying the weight of the sound. The surround channels are used to expand the on-screen world, and further draw the viewer into the action, but due to the genre of the film, their use is somewhat limited.
Navigation
Navigation is simple, and easy to use, with a text main menu, with a static background (albeit with an image displaying a lot of cleavage). Options for language, scene selection and special features are presented.
The languages sub-menu provides a text list of the languages, and large collection of sub-title choices.
The scene selection sub-menus contain four static, colour thumbnails each. While these are numbered, and rather large, they are not labelled, leaving some guesswork as to exactly where in the main feature one is navigating.
The special features menu is a text menu listing the bonus material on the disc.
Bonus Features
Commentary by director Jon Cassar, writer Jack Olsen and actress Jaz Sinclair – An audio commentary providing an insight to the process of making the film, with input from the perspective of writing the story, directing on set, and creating the character. Piecing everything together, with interesting contributions by all three. This is bound to be valuable to lovers of film, and budding filmmakers alike.
The Haves & The Have Nots – The cast and crew talking about the main plot point in the film, and how surrogacy laws can make things very complicated for the biological parents. Some interesting facts on how the law works, and the difficulties that may arise.
Deleted Scenes – A collection of nine deleted scenes. These can be viewed individually, or via a “play all” menu item.
Previews – There are trailers for Inferno, The Shallows and Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV. There autoplay at the beginning of the disc, and can be accessed again via this menu item.
