Sydney Sweeney has been all over the news in recent months, news that in no way helped her award hopeful starring role in Christy which wound up being on of the biggest box office bombs of the year if not all time. If the Friday numbers are any indication though, her latest effort The Housemaid looks to be at least some semblance of a hit, and the adaptation of Freida McFadden's best-selling novel is a pretty fun time at the movies.
The Housemaid follows Sweeney as Millie, a young woman on parole desperate for a job after being fired. After an interview for a housemaid position in a fancy mansion, she leaves expecting to never hear from the homeowner Nina (Amanda Seyfried) again. To her surprise, she gets a call a few days later from the bubbly Nina asking her to start right away. Millie's excitement quickly wanes when she arrives to the picturesque house now turned to a pigsty. Nina's husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) instantly connects with Millie, but Nina's kind and bubbly facade fades as she abuses and manipulates Millie. I'll leave the synopsis there, as McFadden's story is filled with fun twists and thrills that I don't want to spoil.
Aside from the book's status as a best-seller, the big draw here is certainly the cast. Sadly Sweeney isn't great here, nailing the at times seductive pieces of the character but often coming across as quite wooden. I wouldn't go as far as to say she's phoning it in but I've seen her better in other projects so I was expecting a bit more here. Seyfriend on the other hand was perfectly cast as Nina. She can flip from the put together housewife to an absolute maniac on a dime and makes both sides of the character believable. She's simply great here and really carries the film. I also loved Brandon Sklenar, an actor I've grown to like quite a bit who is given a very interesting role here that he really nails.
Filmmaking wise, this is a pretty big mixed bag. Director Paul Feig brings some of his trademark sharp wit, and he manages to keep the film engaging despite a pretty long runtime. The script is limited a bit by the source material, but does make some changes that I found to be a pretty big step back from the book. The ending in particular leaves a lot to be desired as someone who has read the book. While it isn't a bad ending, the book's climax leaves a much bigger mark. There is also one key character that has a prominent role in the book but is pretty much just thrown in here and given nothing to do. The soundtrack is another area that I think will be divisive. The needle drops come at some wild moments and they come in loud, but if you're leaning into the campiness of it all they make for some fun energy.
All in all, I'd say go into this expecting a fun yet silly mystery thriller. The writing is a bit all over the place and of the three lead performances one doesn't quite live up to the others, but I had a good time with it. 3/5
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