The Lance is back with your favorite series–Hot Takes! This time, we’re ready to give our fire opinions on the thriller that the internet is obsessing over, The Housemaid. This movie, inspired by the book written by Freida McFadden, cast notable actresses Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried to take on the roles of Millie and Nina. Through plot twists and insane moments, this movie had me at the edge of my seat the entire time. In case you are late on the trend, beware that spoilers are ahead.
Quick Recap
The movie follows ex-convict Millie Calloway and her journey towards a fresh start after applying to be the Winchester family’s housemaid, where she works as a live-in maid to maintain her parole after a 10-year jail sentence. During her time working for the family, she witnesses and experiences evil, demented treatment due to psychotic episodes that Nina Winchester puts on at home (I mean, the poor woman pulled out her own hair!), and slowly falls in love with Nina’s husband, Andrew, as they bond over the pain Nina has caused them. As tensions rise, the truth about Andrew and his toxic personality come out and what seemed to be the truth about the Winchester family turned out to be far more twisted and dangerous than Millie ever imagined.
Nina Winchester couldn’t have been played by a better actress. Amanda Seyfried did an outstanding job capturing the strong emotions of pain as well as acting in scenes that terrified the viewers. Her acting led the audience into believing she was truly evil and psychotic, which we learned was not the case. Sydney Sweeney is known to be controversial, especially after her previous roles framing her a specific way and her American Eagle ad that many people found offensive and inappropriate. Although not many loved her performance in this movie, I definitely see this as a step in the right direction because she did exactly what was needed of her when she was playing Millie Calloway. She displays intelligence and naivety throughout the movie as she experiences different events working as a housemaid for the Winchester family. Seyfried and Sweeney work well together throughout the movie, especially when it comes time to take down Andrew Winchester, played by Brandon Sklenar. Sklenar portrayed the charming, caring husband, who then was revealed to be an abusive, psychotic perfectionist. Overall, the three main characters were portrayed by great actors who I can tell put their hearts and souls into this movie.
I was put through a rollercoaster of emotions as more of the truth was revealed throughout the movie. Nina Winchester was framed to be a psychotic mother and wife by everyone in the movie, and I didn’t doubt these stories for a second. The build up set up a perfect plot twist! Once Andrew and Millie went on the New York City trip, it was known that Nina would end up going insane on Millie when she began to notice Millie’s relationship with her husband, Andrew.
The scene of Nina screaming in her car?? CRAZY reaction to everything that just went down. Little did we know, it was a scream of joy. The whole town (and I) was convinced that Nina was a psychopath with the dream husband, but they were far from the truth. Once the reality of their relationship started to come out, his small comments in the beginning of the movie didn’t seem as small as before. When it all came together, I realized all of the easter eggs throughout the movie. All of the comments about Nina’s hair color and his attention to detail were not as sweet as I thought it was. When his toxic behavior came out, I literally gasped because everything in the movie suddenly made sense. Andrew’s perfectionism had a dark side to it, and he made both Nina and Millie suffer because of it. Although the movie was entertaining, it wasn’t a close replica to the book, so there should have been a few more direct references. Enzo?? He was one of the main characters in the book, but only said ten words in the movie! This movie took me on an adventure and threw numerous surprises at me that I never could have called.
The music, camera angles, and use of flashbacks make the movie thrilling and suspenseful, never letting the audience know what’s coming next. As I watched the movie, I felt as uneasy as Millie during Nina’s lashing out scenes. The first big episode over the PTA papers completely changed my point of view and made me wonder what her issue was because no sane woman would ever throw plates and scream over some missing papers. The quietness and music used both contributed to terrifying scenes and built up suspense for a big moment to happen. These elements all made the movie exciting and made me feel as if I was in the same position as the characters.
Overall, this movie was amazing and I have not stopped thinking about it since I watched it. Every element was perfectly curated by the director and team to make this movie as much of a success as it was. I will definitely be anticipating the second movie of The Housemaid trilogy. Watching this movie was “a privilege”, and everyone should see it too before it leaves theaters, or look for it on streaming services in the future.