The Housemaid
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ (out of 5 stars)
A world-wide bestseller, Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, and 1923’s Brandon Sklenar as headliners and director Bridesmaids Paul Feig at the helm, this looks like the breakaway hit of the season. A twisted tale of deception, marriage and a housemaid with a sorted past will have audiences interested to peek through the keyhole to discover what is happening behind closed doors.
The Winchesters’ home appears to be an idyllic place for anyone seeking a position as a housemaid. This picturesque home is home to a beautiful family who seem to live a picture-perfect lifestyle, and the matriarch is Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried). She has decided to hire a housemaid to assist with the household chores, and Mille (Sydney Sweeney) looks to be the leading candidate, despite her questionable history. Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar) questions the decision until Nina begins her psychotic rants, and the young family needs additional help. As cracks start to form in the family’s outward facade, everything twists into a volatile atmosphere where no one is safe.
As Freida McFadden’s novel comes to life, fans will hold on to see if each twist occurs to justify their passionate devotion to this book. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried are the perfect choices for these women, each with a different degree of power. Brandon Sklenar has found his cinematic place as the model husband who holds onto something darker under the skin. Then, to partner with the director who loves dynamic female leads, Paul Feig is in his happy place as he steps deeper into the recesses of deceit and viciousness of the human condition.
The ingredients are all there for a hit, and it likely will be a career pinnacle for all involved, but there’s a problem in the mix. Not sure if it is the source material or the screenplay, but the writing is so pedestrian that the majority of the plot twists are painfully telegraphed. The scripting doesn’t do justice to the cast, and most supporting characters are one-dimensional additions that add little to the story. Not that modern audiences will care, but once they have seen Sydney Sweeney naked and experienced the plot twists, this film will most likely be forgotten in cinematic history.
The house in The Housemaid is a metaphor for this film production. Outwardly beautiful and enviable, but once you walk across the threshold, the facade quickly fades, and there is little to celebrate. In the middle of the home is the spiral staircase, which seems to hold all the secrets until you walk down each step to find out that there are only Junior Mints and reruns of Family Feud on offer. A home and story that draw you in but proves that there's nothing much to envy or care about in the end.
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REEL DIALOGUE: Lies and Deception
We all have heard the saying, 'appearances can be deceiving.'
This is especially true of The Housemaid. It becomes clear early in the film that nothing is what it seems. As the movie progresses, Millie needs to determine if her lies are worse than what is happening within the Winchester home.
Can you imagine living your life as a continual lie, trying to present yourself as someone you're not?
It would get exhausting. The Bible tells us that the struggles we go through to live a life free from lying and being deceitful are merely symptoms of the bigger problem: sin. (A word that basically means rejecting the rule of God in our lives). However, the Bible also tells us that we can live a life free from this burden of sin. Thanks to the person of Jesus, this is possible. His sacrifice allows us to enter a loving relationship with God. Also, one of the benefits is knowing that we can be accepted without having to live a perfect life, which is impossible.
Speak to a Christian friend or visit your local church to find out more about how you can be free of the burdens and lies you might be living with.
