The Housemaid is not a movie that plays fair all the time though, as it does ask you to accept certain leaps in logic
The Housemaid is messy, dramatic, very aware of its own nonsense, and weirdly confident about it.
Plot Summary of The Housemaid (Spoiler-Free)
The Housemaid follows Millie Calloway, a young woman who is down to her last options, as she’s broke, living out of her car, and carrying a past she’s desperate to keep buried, so when she lands an interview for a live-in maid job with a wealthy family, she knows this could be her lifeline.
The job is with Nina Winchester, who lives in a large, pristine home with her husband Andrew and their young daughter, and Millie’s responsibilities are simple on paper, with decent pay and a room included, so she doesn’t ask many questions, because she can’t afford to.
Once Millie moves in, things begin to shift though, and the house that once looked perfect feels more tense and unpredictable, as Nina’s moods swing wildly, her requests become harder to manage, and Millie starts to feel like she’s constantly doing something wrong without knowing why.
As Millie struggles to keep her job and stay afloat, she begins to rely on Andrew for kindness and support, but the deeper she sinks into this family’s world, the clearer it becomes that nothing about this situation is straightforward.
Secrets pile up, trust becomes slippery, and Millie’s past edges closer to the surface, and what started as a job turns into something far more dangerous, and Millie may not be as powerless as she appears.
The Housemaid: Is It Worth Watching?
The Housemaid is a film that likes to twist the knife in a few times just to see if you’re still paying attention, just in case you have started to browse your phone just out of habit – you know you do it.
Sydney Sweeney (Christy) plays Millie with a mix of desperation and self-control, where she is constantly calculating, and you really but into her struggles, and it all lands without feeling like it’s begging for sympathy either.
Then there’s Nina, played by Amanda Seyfried, who is clearly having a great time being charming one moment and impossible the next, and she’s the kind of boss who smiles while making your life harder, then acts shocked when you don’t thank her for it.
We have all had a boss like that, right?
The film is excellent at letting all the discomfort build, as it doesn’t rush through the tension, where small things start to pile up, the way Nina changes the rules, the way the house feels different once Millie moves in, and the way other characters react to her presence.
You’re constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, and when it does, the movie doesn’t just drop one shoe, it dumps the whole closet.
The Housemaid is not a movie that plays fair all the time though, as it does ask you to accept certain choices, certain coincidences, and certain leaps in logic, and I didn’t always buy every turn the story took, but I also didn’t feel cheated, as the movie signals early on that realism is not the priority – momentum is.
There’s also a sharp sense of humor running underneath everything., and while it’s not laugh-out-loud comedy, there are moments that will make you smirk, and moments where the movie seems very aware of how ridiculous the situation has become.
The performances really carry this thing however, and Seyfried in particular goes big, sometimes very big, but it works for this story, as Nina is meant to feel overwhelming. Sweeney, on the other hand, plays Millie with restraint, which makes the contrast between them even stronger.
When Millie finally pushes back, it’ feels earned.’s all earned, and Brandon Sklenar’s Andrew sits somewhere in the middle, supportive on the surface, but questionable underneath, and he’s certainly not easy to read.
If I have issues, they mostly come down to repetition and escalation, as there are moments where the movie circles the same beat one too many times before moving forward, and when the story ramps up and the tone shifts, it ramps up fast.
Some twists land beautifully, others made me laugh out loud in a “wow, we’re really doing this” kind of way, and whether that works for you will depend on how much you enjoy chaos in your thrillers.
For me, the ride was worth it, as I didn’t need everything to be neat, I just needed it to be engaging, and it absolutely was.
What I Liked (And What I Didn’t Like)
Pros
Sydney Sweeney
She gets a lot of shit, but just like in Christy, she has put in another solid performance.
Amanda Seyfried
She doesn’t hold back, and the movie is better for it.
The Tension
The discomfort creeps in quickly and stays.
Confident Tone
The movie knows what it is and doesn’t apologize.
Sharp Power Dynamics
Every interaction feels like a negotiation.
Dark Humor
It knows when to wink without breaking the mood.
A Satisfying Sense of Payoff
It goes big at the end, for better or worse.
Cons
The Logic
You have to go along with it, no questions asked.
A Few Repetitive Beats
Certain conflicts could’ve been trimmed.
Not Every Twist Lands
A couple felt more loud than clever.
Emotional Fallout
Some of the big moments don’t always get time they needed to breathe.
Who Might Like The Housemaid
- Fans of twist-heavy thrillers
- People who loved the book and want a bold adaptation
- Fans of Sydney Sweeney or Amanda Seyfried
- Anyone who enjoy dark humor mixed with suspense
- People who like yelling “don’t trust him” at the screen
Who Might Dislike The Housemaid
- If who need strict realism
- Anyone who hates exaggerated characters
- Viewers who want clean logic at all times
- People expecting a gentle adaptation
Final Verdict: Did I Enjoy Watching The Housemaid?
I had enough fun with it, and it pretty much jept me engaged the whole time, which is always good.
It has some flaws, but overall it’s confident, dramatic, and entertaining enough, and sometimes that’s just enough.
The Housemaid Trailer
Simon Leasher
A lover of cinema for over 35 years, I have watched many films from around the world in many different genres, yet I still normally always come back to trashy slasher horror films when in doubt. More
And yes, The Godfather 2 is better than The Godfather.
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