The Housemaid (2025)

FULL SPOILER-FREE REVIEW @ https://movieswetextedabout.com/the-housemaid-movie-review-paul-feig-delivers-a-crowd-pleaser-driven-by-an-unhinged-amanda-seyfried/

"The Housemaid leans on the undeniable talent of an Amanda Seyfried in her prime and Paul Feig‘s ability to create a crowd-pleaser that knows its limitations. Although it doesn’t avoid clichés and occasionally gets lost in narrative redundancies, its vibrant aesthetics and explosive finale make up for the flaws along the way.

A deliberately chaotic domestic thriller, where the power struggle and the deconstruction of social appearances reveal that the true terror lies in what we choose to ignore in broad daylight."

Rating: B-

In with a whimper and out with the trash

A friend recently suggested to me that 2025 has seen a reduction of left wing politics in popular culture. I politely asked him if he had gone both deaf and blind. The Housemaid is a case in point. Paul Feig and Rebecca Sonnenshine have conspired to unleash yet another entertainment for the type of people who believe The Handmaid's Tale is a reasonable allegory for modern America.

There are comically evil straight white males in the main storyline, the backstory of the first female heroine, in the flashbacks for the second female heroine and the dopy sequel set-up. Housemaid 2: This Time is Even More Ridiculous.

The central straight white male of The Housemaid is a man who lives behind a gate with his initial on it. Say less.

The miscreant inherited all his money. Say less.

The wretch works in tech! Say less. OK, but what is a Data Processing company? Does Chandler work there?

Freida McFadden's novel hasn't landed on my TBR list. My first exposure to The Housemaid was the trailer I saw a few weeks ago. As the moving pictures of the pretty house and the even prettier ladies unfolded in front of me I said to myself, "So the husband's a monster. Got it."

Perhaps things like storytelling, nuance, character development, suspense and satisfying plot twists are gauche and passé. The only thing that matters, apparently, is consistently getting the message out there. The message which decrees all rich people are bad, especially if they're straight and white and male. Feig proves himself particularly committed to the bit. Anything to get back into the studio good graces, I guess.

A skirmish broke out in a comments section when someone had the audacity to highlight, "No woman would ever invite a housemaid that looks like Sydney Sweeney into their home." Naturally someone shot back, "That's sexist!". When there is no better argument to make, use one of the following words; sexist, racist, homophobic, Islamophobic, transphobic, xenophobic. One of them is sure to stick.

Never mind that most housemaids, nannies or live in help look nothing like Sydney Sweeney. If they did, most wives would say, "Hell, no!" We can't have an honest conversation about serious matters such as domestic abuse when some viewers won't admit the set-up for The Housemaid is ludicrous. Instead Feig force feeds us a steady diet of HGTV eye candy with side orders of beefcake and malarkey.

Speaking of Sydney Sweeney, she sure needed a hit. Thanks to her character Millie, Sweeney won't have to milk the jeans controversy that has dogged her for much of the year. Millie is the type of sad sack that has to buy her clothes off the rack but still knows how to make a good melon salad or serve jugs of juice.

Amanda Seyfried takes time off from disparaging dead men to portray the glamourous, garrulous cray cray wife. Fellas, these two don't make out. Feels like a real missed opportunity.

Brandon Sklenar appears as Andrew, Gaslighter extraordinaire. Between The Housemaid and Drop, Sklenar is Hollywood's latest hunk du jour. This guy is so hot I'd be worried if he was my masseuse. It is easy to understand how he could pseudo reverse Pretty Woman all these females and at such a young age.

The two biggest issues with modern movies is the aforementioned reliance on left wing tropes and the fact they go on too long. It takes an ungodly 75 minutes before Feig finally reveals what anyone with a modicum of sense has known all along. A film redolent of so many other lasses in a lurch narratives didn't need to take this so long to unfurl.

The Housemaid is not a film to be taken seriously. It is outlandish over the top nonsense. It is also, in its own way, beautiful visual gibberish with several hysterical moments. I'm still at a loss for why I was the only one laughing in the theatre.

The conclusion requires zero interpretive skills. A variation on the Gone Girl ending was sitting there on a tee. Alas, that fabled nuance is mostly a lost art in a mostly lost year for movies. The Housemaid is right about exactly one thing. Barry Lyndon is a masterpiece.

Greta understands the irony.

“Millie” (Sydney Sweeney) is on parole and sleeping in her car when she applies for a job housekeeping for the wealthy “Wentworth” family. After her first meeting with the jovial “Nina” (Amanda Seyfried) she doesn’t hold out much hope, so imagine her surprise when she is back in their luxury kitchen with a centrally heated, if somewhat airtight, attic bedroom and a phone replete with a limitless credit card. At this stage, enter hunky husband “Andrew” (Brandon Skelnar) and her slightly stand-offish, ballet dancing, daughter “Cece” (Indiana Elle) and duly welcomed this newcomer is. Next morning, “Millie” discovers an entirely flakier side of her boss, though, and that’s just the start of some curious escapades that do, at this stage, send us into some fairly predictable territory. Thing is, we get to that stage with still an hour to go so we know there will have to be some twists. Twists there duly are and although they are really quite far-fetched, they are actually stitched together quite cleverly with loads of histrionics, lying, cheating and nobody really turning out as you might expect. Along the way this pings quite entertainingly at the facileness of the ladies who lunch brigade who make every therapist’s wet dreams come true and the three actors deliver well, especially as things take some turns for the unexpected towards the end. I wasn’t really expecting to, but I did quite enjoy this in the end and if there’s not a sequel then I’ll eat my hat.

This movie was genuinely exciting to watch. Millie is a bold and interesting character, and I liked the idea of her targeting creepy, psychologically disturbed men. There is something satisfying about how brave and calculated she is, and the way the film presents her at first makes you think you are watching a completely different kind of story. The movie feels very professional in terms of direction, atmosphere, and pacing. What I enjoyed most is how unpredictable it is. At the beginning, Millie comes off as cute and almost innocent, and it seems like Andrew and Nina are just part of a normal setup. I expected Nina to be the real problem, but the story flips and reveals Andrew as the true villain, which caught me off guard in a good way. Overall, the vibe of the movie is very mysterious and tense, and it keeps you guessing about who is actually dangerous and who is not. If you like thrillers with twists and morally complex characters, this one is worth watching :D

After seeing endless trailers for The Housemaid at recent cinema visits over the last few months I caved and purchased a ticket. And boy that was money well spent!

Based on the 2022 novel by Frieda McFadden, this thriller is an absolute twist filled, psychological nightmare. Think Gone Girl for the Taylor Swift obsessed with some brutal scenes.

We follow Millie (Sydney Sweeney), currently on parole and eager to move on with her life. She thinks she's found the perfect job after interviewing with bubbly, effervescent trophy wife Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried). She's offered a live-in position as a housemaid in the spectacular home Nina shares with her husband Andrew (Brendon Sklenar) and daughter Cece (Indiana Elle).

But it's too good to be true. Millie's living in a tiny attic room with a deadbolt lock on the wrong side of the door, Cece goes out of her way to be difficult and there's creepy groundskeeper Enzo (Michele Morrone).

It's clear from the trailer Nina is unhinged. We learn early on she's on medication for schizophrenia and see sudden vocal and physical outbursts, followed by frenzied apologetic monologues.

Seyfried is the absolute star here in this turbulent role. She steals every scene with a truly believable, guttural and raw performance which I was not expecting.

In contract Sweeney's portrayal of Millie feels downplayed, however this is a perfect choice. In a volatile situation where she needs to keep a job, this character does what anyone would do - keep calm and carry on.

The Housemaid takes its audience through many narrative twists. From the outset we're on the back food, as it unveils one secret after another keeping you guessing throughout.

Fans of melodrama, frantic storytelling and shocking scenes can rejoice as you'll find these in abundance. The second act of this film is also incredibly steamy which, with a cast that looks this good, is absolutely welcome and expected.

The film loses points for its soundtrack. There are needle drops at pivotal moments where they choose bubblegum pop which imbalances the film's tone completely.

Ultimately it's the third act that ties this film together. We discover the true plot and those lose ends you've spend the previous hour trying to figure out are woven together in a jaw dropping sequence of events.

As someone who's not read the book, I found this adaptation unravelled in an impactful way with a satisfying ending and was left wanting more. This is a novel I'm adding to my read list along with it's sequel as I will absolutely be checking that out when it releases.

The Housemaid is a must see, ideally with an audience as the reactions in my screening were almost as wild as the film itself.

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the housemaidhorrorthrillerfrieda mcfaddensydney sweeneyamanda seyfriedbrendon sklenarindiana ellemichele morronepaul feig
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