I join CTV Atlantic’s Todd Battis to talk about the epic “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the absurd “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” the feel-good divorce drama “Is This Thing On?” and the psychological thriller “The Housemaid.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
I sit in with CKTB morning show host Steph Vivier to have a look at movies in theatres including the epic “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” rthe absurd “The SpongeBob Movie: Search for SquarePants,” the feel-good divorce drama “Is This Thing On?” and the psychological thriller “The Housemaid.”
Listen to the whole thing HERE!
Fast reviews for busy people! Watch as I review three movies in less time than it takes to make the bed! Have a look as I race against the clock to tell you about the epic “Avatar: Fire and Ash,” the feel-good divorce drama “Is This Thing On?” and the psychological thriller “The Housemaid.”
Watch the whole thing HERE!
SYNOPSIS: In “The Housemaid,” a new psychological thriller starring Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, and now playing in theatres, a parolee gets a job working for a wealthy family, in a beautiful home filled with secrets.
CAST: Sydney Sweeney, Amanda Seyfried, Brandon Sklenar, Michele Morrone, Elizabeth Perkins. Directed by Paul Feig.
REVIEW: A story of a campaign of domestic psychological warfare, “The Housemaid” is a drawn-out, twisty-turny story of gaslighting, an attic room and a broken dinner plate.
The story begins with Millie Calloway (Sydney Sweeney) looking for work to satisfy the conditions of her parole. In prison for ten years, she’s living in her car and if she doesn’t get a job soon, it’s back to the big house to finish her sentence.
When she lands a job as a live-in housemaid at the Winchester family estate, tending to the ultra-wealthy Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), her husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) and daughter Cecelia (Indiana Elle), it appears to be a dream job. Given flexible hours and a new phone and credit card, she moves into a bedroom in the attic, the one with the lock on the outside.
“Hold on to this job and the living situation,” her parole officer reminds her, “or you’ll be back in Bedford to finish the last five years of your sentence.”
Desperate to avoid going back to jail, she puts her head down and gets to work, even though Nina’s personality leans toward Jekyll and Hyde; kind one second, cruel the next. “Today wasn’t a total disaster,” Nina says to Millie by way of praise.
Smoothing things out is Andrew, who always has a kind word and a way of keeping the peace between Nina and Millie. He’s a good guy, but is he too good to be true?
Director Paul Feig is best known for making comedies like “Bridesmaids,” but “The Housemaid,” despite sharing four letters in the title of his biggest hit, is not a laugh-a-minute. It has more to do with the intrigue and suspense of his 2018 film “A Simple Favor” than his other films.
Feig sets the dark story against the dazzling backdrop of the Winchester’s palatial home, a sun-dappled mansion painted inside and out in bright white, save for the creepy little room in the attic. The opulent home silently establishes film’s the power dynamic; the disparity between Nina’s effortless cruelty and Millie’s desperation, and it’s the last time anything in the film goes unsaid.
The movie takes some big swings and has more twists than a winding country road and screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine wants to make sure you don’t miss a thing. I suppose, that’s great if you’re scrolling through your phone while watching (which you shouldn’t be, especially in a theatre) but it draws out the action, especially two flashback sequences near the end. By the time we get to the story’s revenge aspect, it feels played out.
Still, despite being overlong, it’s a bit of a romp, with the main cast, Sweeney, Seyfried and Sklenar, jumping in with both feet, throwing themselves at the pulpy premise with vigor that helps smooth most of the storytelling’s rough edges.
“The Housemaid” isn’t quite as clever as it needs to be to keep the audience on the edge of their seat until the end credits but has enough wackadoodle twists and engaging characters to register as a playful “evil one-percenters” time waster.
