Whenever a published work becomes a bestselling novel, that is usually the sign that it will be adapted for the big screen. As much as we complain about the lack of originality when it comes to most Hollywood movies, there is something cynical about movies based on bestsellers that usually attract female audiences, whether it is a good twisty thriller like The Girl on the Train or anything by Nicholas Sparks. While there is nothing wrong about making content for your target audience, you are just hoping for more creativity towards the stories that feel more recycled than anything.
In the case of The Housemaid – based on Freida McFadden’s novel that became an instant success shortly after its 2022 publication – it has enough star power with its two leads Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, as well as Bridesmaids director Paul Feig to gain mainstream attention. Set in Long Island, Millie Calloway (Sweeney), who is desperate to find a job on parole, lies on her resume to become the live-in maid of the wealthy Winchester family. Right away getting the job, Millie gets put through the ringer by Nina Winchester (Seyfried), the mother and wife of the family, who shows signs of severe mental illness, and repeatedly puts Millie in double bind situations.
While this absolutely fit into the realms of the modern twisty thriller that will attract a mainstream audience, there are story beats that feel closer to 90s thrillers like Single White Female where psychological tension occurs between two women, while erotic tension is happening elsewhere. In the first scene where Sweeney’s Millie catches the attention of Nina’s husband Andrew, you know what’s going down. And even though Andrew says he is the head of a tech company, the way that It Ends with Us’ Brandon Sklenar is shot throughout this movie, he might as well have said he is a male model.
You can honestly say the same thing about Sydney Sweeney as Millie who is introduced as a young woman with a troubled past and is homeless as she lives in her car. However, by the time she begins her role as the titular housemaid, Sweeney’s glamour stardom shines throughout, especially during a night out where she wears a white dress. Although Sweeney fares well in a rather subtle performance as a protagonist slowly realizing the dark secrets, she is nicely contrasted with Amanda Seyfried who revels in her unhinged role that is in line with the film’s B-movie tone.
Even if you are unfamiliar with McFadden’s novel, you can see screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine wrestling with material that she is trying to condense, whether it is juggling multiple voiceovers or supporting characters like Michele Morrone’s Italian groundskeeper who mumbles his way without much of a presence.
Considering that he has been shifting away from comedies to thriller territory with A Simple Favor and its sequel Another Simple Favor, director Paul Feig hasn’t gone full Todd Phillips and made his Joker yet. As a thriller that jumps between absurdity and dark subject matter, there is a playfulness from Feig’s direction, even though his pursuit of attracting a mainstream audience with a strong emphasis of pop songs (“Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson being a particular highlight), The Housemaid is tonally all over the place.
