The Housemaid review

THE HOUSEMAID: 

SYDNEY SWEENEY AND AMANDA SEYFRIED EROTIC PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER IS A SEXY, WILD RIDE! 

By Nico Beland

Movie Review: **** out of 4

LIONSGATE

Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney in The Housemaid

 

            A housemaid played by Sydney Sweeney (Anyone But You, Immaculate, Christy) is hired by a wealthy family only for it to become a literal nightmare in The Housemaid, the new erotic psychological thriller from director Paul Feig (Bridesmaids, The Heat, A Simple Favor 1 and 2) based on the 2022 novel of the same name by Freida McFadden. Before I start this review, I’m gonna be upfront with you about something, I have been completely indifferent to Sydney Sweeney, I don’t think she’s a bad actress or anything, but I hadn’t seen her in anything great yet and movies with her just keep popping up everywhere. 

            Anyone But You was a cute albeit formulaic rom-com, Immaculate was a decent horror movie but nothing special, and the less I say about Madame Web, the better. For the longest time, I thought her best movie was her minor role in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood back in 2019. 

            But then, this movie started being advertised and upon realizing that it was Paul Feig who is usually known for directing comedies like Bridesmaids was helming it as a return to dark thriller territory after his two Simple Favormovies, I became interested. I absolutely loved Feig’s A Simple Favor and even hailed it as one of my favorite films from 2018 (Second one was alright which I reviewed earlier this year) so you bet your ass I was down to see more of his unhinged, twisted imagination…and, wow, what a movie! 

            The Housemaid completely surpassed and subverted my expectations and just like A Simple Favor from 2018 is one of my favorite films of the year. This was a lot of fun and I was constantly on the edge of my seat trying to piece everything together. 

            The film follows Millie (Sweeney), a down on her luck woman who answers a want ad for a housemaid job by the wealthy, Nina (Amanda Seyfried-Mean Girls, Mamma Mia! 1 and 2, Les Miserables) and Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar-Midway (2019), It Ends with Us, Drop). At first things seem fine, Nina and Andrew are friendly with Millie and they have a daughter named Cece (Played by newcomer Indiana Elle), but Millie begins to discover a terrifying secret about this family and they aren’t as they seem. 

            The film also stars Michele Morrone (365 Days trilogy, Subservience, Another Simple Favor) as groundskeeper Enzo Accardi, Elizabeth Perkins (Big, The Flintstones, Weeds) as Andrew’s mother Evelyn Winchester, Megan Ferguson (Bad Moms, The Disaster Artist, The Broken Hearts Gallery) as Jilianne, and Ellen Tamaki (The Drowning, Charmed, Manifest) as Patrice. 

            Overall, The Housemaid is a damn entertaining domestic thriller that I’m proud to say is finally that great Sydney Sweeney film I’ve been waiting for. Like I said in the beginning, I’ve been very indifferent to her in previous films, but this is easily the best performance I’ve seen from her, she is absolutely magnificent here. 

            Sweeney plays this seemingly friendly and unordinary housemaid looking after this wealthy couple’s home, but even she is hiding some secrets of her own and all of it is believable through Sweeney’s performance. Whether she has to be the kind housemaid, terrified as more secrets unfold, or the badass with the occasional witty quip, Sweeney delivers so much more than just sex appeal in this and really showcases her skills as an actress. 

            However, the one person that can upstage Sydney Sweeney in this is an unhinged and crazy Amanda Seyfried which is about as against-type as you could get from someone like her. She is having such a ball chewing the scenery and going crazy with her performance, watching her was a blast especially when she scolds Sweeney’s character over doing things she told her to do and immediately forgetting about it. 

            Brandon Sklenar is very charming as Seyfried’s husband…perhaps a little too charming and if you ask me, he could really use a gap in the teeth! Unfortunately, I can’t say too much about the other actors and characters without going into spoilers, but everyone brings their A-game. 

            The movie is 2 hours and 11 minutes and nothing drags; everything is perfectly paced and keeps that kinetic energy pumping throughout the runtime. It doesn’t have any slow points or scenes that go on for too long, it’s consistently interesting, filled with twists and turns, and keeps you guessing from start to finish, I legitimately didn’t know where it was going and was shocked by various scenes and reveals during the film. 

            The film is also well shot with great cinematography and camera editing with some of my favorites being these drawn out panning shots and swiveling cameras every time a character goes up or downstairs. It’s definitely worth seeing on the big screen on the Winchester house alone, I’m talking interior and exterior in both the architecture and how the home is decorated, looks magnificent. 

            The Housemaid joins the club of Basic Instinct, Fatal Attraction, The Hand That Rocks the Cradle, and Single White Female as a new standard in erotic/domestic thriller filmmaking with a gripping, twist-filled story, outstanding performances by its cast, and Feig showing off his unhinged imagination. This is a housemaid want ad you absolutely want to accept!