When The Bough Breaks

Lily Gardner discovers her husband has another wife and is not free to marry. Facing the cost of raising a child alone, she resolves to raise Jimmy under her maiden name, Lily Bates, rather than put him up for adoption. The revelation sets the course for the subsequent years of care and secrecy.

Each day Lily leaves Jimmy at a day nursery while she works as a shopgirl in a department store. The arrangement creates a constant tension between Jimmy's care away from home and Lily's own responsibilities. The nursery's warmth contrasts with Lily's struggle to provide for him.

Frances Norman, a middle-class married woman who works at the nursery to be around children, is drawn to Jimmy. She begins to form a protective, maternal connection with him. This bond foreshadows the later conflict over Jimmy's guardianship.

Lily, strained by her demanding schedule, contracts the flu and becomes physically weak. Frances persuades Lily to let her and her husband look after Jimmy temporarily. The arrangement hints at a shift in who becomes Jimmy's primary caregiver.

After recovering, Lily visits Jimmy at the Normans' comfortable home and sees him thriving. She is moved by the care and decides to let the Normans raise him, though she refuses to sign any legal document for adoption. The informal arrangement deepens the emotional complexity of their situation.

Lily gradually gives up staying in touch with Jimmy and drops out of his life. The Normans remain the main caregivers, and Jimmy grows up thinking of them as his parents. The distance creates a lasting emotional rift.

Time passes and Lily climbs the corporate ladder to become a department store manager. Her professional success marks a new independence and resources to claim custody later. The period also widens the gap between Lily and Jimmy.

Lily marries Bill Collins, a kind shopkeeper who is willing to accept Jimmy as his own. The blended family sketch offers a hopeful future for Jimmy within a two-parent home. The new family dynamic reframes Jimmy's sense of belonging.

Lily visits the Normans to reclaim Jimmy, believing he should be with her now that she can care for him. The Normans refuse to hand him over because Lily has not been part of his life for years. The disagreement paves the way for a formal custody battle.

A legal battle ensues, and the court awards custody of Jimmy to Lily due to the lack of any formal adoption agreement. The ruling formalizes Jimmy's status as Lily's son in a legal sense. The Normans' care arrangement is thus overridden by the judicial decision.

Jimmy goes to live with Lily and Bill, but he faces difficulty adjusting to their working-class home. He longs for the Normans, whom he regards as his true mother and father. The transition emphasizes the emotional complexities of family bonds.

Lily and Bill welcome a baby of their own and celebrate his first birthday. Meanwhile, Jimmy marks his birthday with the Normans, underscoring the continued parallel families. The ending ties together the film's themes of chosen families and the costs of custody.