Studio: Lionsgate
Director: Paul Feig
Writer: Rebecca Sonnenshine
Producer: Todd Lieberman, Laura Fischer, Paul Feig
Stars: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, Elizabeth Perkins, Indiana Elle, Amanda Joy Erickson, Sarah Cooper, Megan Ferguson, Ellen Tamaki
Review Score:
Summary:
Startling secrets are exposed on all sides when a seemingly charming housewife invites a new housekeeper with a hidden past to live with her husband and daughter.
Review:
“The Housemaid” initially tells two tales of two women. The first conflict comes from Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), a seemingly sweet if outwardly overeager housewife, and Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney), a desperate woman with hidden problems in her past whom Nina hires as her family’s new housekeeper. Meanwhile, Nina also accounts for two women by herself, because the suspiciously friendly socialite she presents in public plays Jekyll to the horrible Hyde of psychotic behavior and gaslighting rage she delights in directing at Millie.
Based on the book by Freida McFadden, “The Housemaid” manages its time about as well as Nina manages her dual personalities, which is to say not smoothly at all. Running 131 minutes when 90 would have sufficed, well over half of that duration gets sunk into a first act that doesn’t know when to quit, so get ready to have the stage sufficiently set only for the film to continue pouring cement long past the foundation being firm.
Two things immediately tell Millie something doesn’t smell right in the Winchester mansion. For one thing, Millie inexplicably passed a background check despite being a prison parolee who lied about everything on her job application. For another, Nina somehow made an absolute mess of the house from top to bottom, even though the whole place was spotless during Millie’s interview yesterday.
Millie soon meets Nina’s eight-year-old daughter Cece, who treats the house’s new addition like a barrel of rotten fish, and Nina’s wealthy husband Andrew, whose irresistible smile can’t hide confused surprise that his wife apparently invited a stranger to live in their home.
Millie also meets Nina’s dark side. Then she meets it again. Then she keeps meeting it every other minute for the next hour. Unexpected outbursts come in the form of erratic actions like sending Millie on tasks only to later claim Millie majorly messed up critical details, making passive-aggressive insults prone to omitting the passive part, and having semi-regular breakdowns that include breaking objects. Millie starts to think PTA gossip about Nina being cuckoo might have merit, and that’s to say nothing of Millie’s confined attic quarters that oddly only lock from the outside.
Even if Hollywood-handsome Brandon Sklenar, the guy who took two TV seasons to finally make it home to Montana in “1923,” wasn’t playing Andrew, anyone remotely familiar with the homewrecker horrors of “The Hand That Rocks the Cradle,” or sexy thrillers that Sharon Stone made chic, can see where the back-breaking straw will come from. It takes half of the movie for Millie and Andrew to openly acknowledge obvious urges, seemingly pointing “The Housemaid” toward a predictable destination after taking a winding road to connect all sides of this love triangle. However, anyone whose feet had been falling asleep from familiarity should be back to teetering on alert toes as soon as the movie makes its sudden swerve, as the surprise is unlikely to be quite like anyone might imagine even if they know there’s one coming.
Although it takes what seems like forever to get there, invested audiences will still be hungry to chew on “The Housemaid’s” savory secret thanks to appealing performances from appealing actors who shield scenes from becoming boring for being redundant. It’s tough to tell which character tics come from individual creative choices since everyone is tuned to slightly different temperatures. Seyfried plays Nina like a kooky telenovela villain. Sklenar oscillates between an indistinguishable charmer and a maniac able to match Seyfried’s unhinged energy. Sweeney delivers her role with more vanilla flavor than either of her counterparts, sometimes looking like a plain-faced automaton unaware of the campy vibe intentionally pulsing beneath proceedings.
For all the time misspent unnecessarily elaborating on the buildup, it’s weird what the movie doesn’t do with its many minutes, such as skimming past side characters like a side-eyeing groundskeeper who only speaks in cryptic clips before being interrupted by someone else’s suspicious stare. Or curiously casting Elizabeth Perkins to breeze by as Andrew’s haughty mother in two quick scenes. Don’t forget little Cece, who is only ever seen reacting coldly to Millie’s attempts at bonding, yet it’s still her sympathetic suggestion that compels Nina to make a particular move to help their housekeeper.
“The Housemaid” owes a big debt to Paul Feig’s keen directing for taking clashing portrayals and circular plot progression, then mixing an entertaining potpourri of ‘70s social commentary as seen inside Ira Levin ideas, ‘90s erotic thrillers about scandalized women seeking revenge, and ‘00s Lifetime MOWs where suburban mothers regularly court delusional danger. The tug-of-war between tabloid tawdriness, soap opera theatrics, and the texture of a soccer mom trying her hand at writing a romance novel while outrageous notions keep getting in her way make “The Housemaid” smolder with salaciousness acutely aware of its concurrent silliness. That may not make for the most believable domestic drama ever exaggerated into a three-way thriller, though it does make for a movie that can be a juicy watch once the actors get you in that mood.
Review Score: 70
Although it takes forever to get there, invested audiences will still be hungry to chew on “The Housemaid’s” savory secret thanks to appealing performances.