The Housemaid–Cleaning Up the Mess

Based on the titular blockbuster novel by Freida McFadden, The Housemaid opens with Millie (Sydney Sweeney of “Euphoria”) being interviewed by the uber-wealthy, perfectly coifed and shellacked  Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), in her perfectly immaculate mega-mansion.  

A homeless but romantic young ex-con on probation, Millie desperately is seeking steady employment as a condition for her release from prison. She soon learns she has to endure the employer from hell.  Nina is a former patient in a psychic ward, and her little girl, Cece, seems to reflect a surliness indicating a sinister–perhaps traumatic–past.  Add to this borderline horror, Nina’s handsome husband, Andrew (Brandon Sklenar),  embodies an almost unreal tolerance for his erratic wife.  a mutual attraction between Andrew and Millie begins to simmer.  So, who are these three characters really?

Everyone harbors secrets. Even the gardener.  The Housemaid demands the viewer shift into a new space to address what is actually going on with the characters, each of whom is an unreliable narrator.  What secrets will be exposed?  

Tensions escalate as Nina plays cruel and vicious mind games on Millie, while Andrew becomes more sexually overreaching with the young housemaid.   

It’s difficult to write a more in-depth review of The Housemaid without spoilers. The Hitchcockian twists keep the last third of this movie a thrilling watch, most likely not expected by anyone who has not read McFadden’s novel.

Some plot points feel predictable…until they’re not.  The Housemaid  manages to sustain one’s attention as the characters’ temperaments and behavior shift dramatically.  The last third of the film (which is over two hours long) vastly picks up the pace as the antagonists Seyfeld and Sweeney engage in a  battle of emotional swordplay.  You probably won’t know what hits you until almost the very end, when the mess is cleaned up!

Availability:  Starz