“The Housemaid” is a lively movie based on the book by Freida McFadden. The movie does a really good job of giving the book the justice it deserves. In the movie, you can see a different perspective of what the main character goes through and how it has affected the characters head on. All audiences see at the beginning is a young woman with an unclear background who is struggling to make ends meet as she looks for a new job.
“The Housemaid” also portrays a never-ending cycle of trauma and survival, not enough to where it makes you want to scream or cry. It tilts more to make the audience not want to look away, while at the same time wishing that you could jump into the film to do something about the spine-chilling abuse the characters are seen going through. There are numerous themes in “The Housemaid” that stand out such as the dark secrets lying within wealthy households often portrayed as perfect or balanced.
One thing the movie does a good job of, is pulling the audience in by painting the characters as the opposite of what they really are, which is good because usually the audience can tell what type of role the character holds when they are first introduced. In this movie, it seems a little reversed. That really ends up keeping the audience hooked even more, so that when the true roles of the characters are revealed it gives a great amount of satisfaction. When the true identity of the characters are revealed to the audience, you get to see the deeper meaning of how finding your own identity is so powerful and releasing to the movie as a whole.
“The Housemaid” also shows strong themes of isolation and desperation. The two main characters (portrayed by Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried) go through the same situation that leads you to realize most male-dominant relationships are downgrading to the female as they feel they have no choice but to stay rather than to fight or run away. It’s a very good message to anyone who may feel trapped in a similar situation. Maybe it will help them feel related too and eventually help them find peace.
Another strong factor to the movie is its pacing. It’s not too quick to jump to conclusions, but it’s not slow enough to make the viewers feel bored and want to stop watching. Every scene has a perfect hook to keep you wondering what may happen next. Overall, the movie is filled with shocking twists and turns until the very end of the movie.
