While “The Housemaid” is thrilling to watch, it was also predictable with a paper-thin plot. If you don’t mind a movie where you can predict the twist before you’ve finished your popcorn, it’s entertaining enough.
Based on the best-selling novel, “The Housemaid” by Freida McFadden, the film follows 27-year-old Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney), who is hired as a live-in housemaid for a seemingly perfect, ultra-wealthy family. The job appears to solve all of her problems—she goes from living out of her car to a mansion, and she finally has employment to satisfy her parole officer—until the family’s dark secrets create more trouble.
Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), the erratic and mentally unstable wife of Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar), is Millie’s boss. Nina lashes out constantly, gaslighting Millie after she follows Nina’s instructions and spiraling into explosive mental breakdowns.
I couldn’t tell if the writers thought the twist was clever. It’s hard to imagine someone not figuring out the ending after early scenes of Nina’s daughter reenacting disturbing moments with dolls; Nina even points out how dangerous the house’s architecture is early on.
However, there is something compelling about knowing the ending and watching it anyway. It felt like witnessing a car accident in slow-motion, powerless to stop it. Even as the movie presents its intimate moments as romantic, complete with soft lighting and Flowerovlove’s “breaking news” playing in the background, I had the sense that something wasn’t right.
That said, the cinematography is genuinely stunning. As much as you have to hate that mansion by the end of the movie, the windows are beautiful. It avoids the flat “Netflix lighting” seen in many newer movies.
The movie attempts a societal commentary on how difficult it can be to leave a domestic abuse situation. It shows that it’s not as simple as running away when reputation, children and fear are involved. It is also about the importance of women supporting one another instead of competing for male approval and reinforcing the patriarchy. Still, these ideas are surface-level, especially given the overwhelmingly white, wealthy cast of characters and a single antagonist standing in for the patriarchy as a whole.
“The Housemaid” is the kind of movie you watch once with friends for a fun night out. There just isn’t much substance beneath the suspense; it’s an entertaining watch if you don’t expect more than a pulpy thriller. It’s refreshing that they didn’t throw in half-baked sentiments or try to be more than an airport novel turned movie.
