The Housemaid 4K 2025

Well, I watched the long-awaited new film The Housemaid, starring Amanda Seyfried and Sidney Sweeney.

To be honest, I deliberately didn't read any reviews or even the description. All I knew was that it was a thriller based on some contemporary book. And in thrillers, the element of surprise is important, so I didn't want to spoil the experience for myself in advance.

A brief summary of the plot.

A young woman named Millie (Sweeney) is released from prison and, as a condition of her early release, must find a job. She doesn't have high hopes, but suddenly luck comes her way. She gets a job as a housekeeper or maid for a wealthy family. The mistress (Siffrid) behaves strangely, and the master drools over her, he is so handsome. Soon, the maid and the master have a sudden romance...

I found the first half of the film difficult to watch. All these love triangles involving a good girl, a crazy wife, and a kind husband have been a sore point for viewers and readers since the days of Jane Eyre. And then the twist begins. It's not a bad twist, and the ending is pleasant.

But in my opinion, The Maid has several serious problems that prevent you from immersing yourself in the atmosphere of a thriller.

1. The atmosphere itself. It's not the atmosphere of a thriller, but rather a romantic comedy with a dash of drama. Everything is polished, the main character with her perpetually loose curls and Korean makeup wanders around a giant house with a broom. Cheerful music plays in the background. It all feels more like the TV series Santa Barbara than a suspenseful thriller that's supposed to build tension with each new episode. Director Paul Feig, known for The Office and Knocked Up, clearly took on a genre that wasn't his forte.

2. The complete miscasting of the main character. Kill me, but Sidney Sweeney has nothing to offer but a languid gaze and an outstanding bust. I waited in vain to see that sparkle in her eyes after the main twist, when all the cards were on the table. It was the same old cow-like languor, with her lips saying one thing and her eyes expressing nothing.

3. Plot holes. The twist ended up being a bit of a letdown because the wife's strange behavior never quite fit into the deeply thought-out scheme that it was supposed to be.

And most importantly, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was watching a weak remake of the 2014 film Gone Girl. I even thought that maybe it was by the same author. But no, it's by a different author, and she was clearly inspired by Gillian Flynn's novels.

Anyway, I'm nitpicking for no reason. Against the backdrop of all the trash that has been released in recent years, it's even nice that a thriller has hit the screens, which hasn't happened in a long time.