La femme de ménage

The film follows a young woman who becomes a housemaid for a wealthy family. Soon the housemaid finds out that there's more than meets the eye.

What carries this film are the three central performances from Sweeney, Seyfried, and Sklenar. Seyfried is a particular standout, aptly balancing instability here in the first part of the film, and a kind of charm and gentleness later. It's also nice that the two female leads aren't just ditzy and have some interiority.

As long as you don't take it too seriously, you'll have a good time. The suspense, tension, and dread ratchet up slowly until it reaches an explosive, satisfying ending. The twists are shocking and unexpected. The film is unpredictable and pleasingly chaotic at times. (Disclaimer: I didn't read the source material.) The action scenes are cool and at times graphic, and the romance is hot.

This is not only a fun little thriller, but it also has some substance to it. It can be cathartic and poignant at points. It's not often that mainstream films portray domestic violence in the upper echelons of society, and this film does that while simultaneously offering an entertaining time. I myself was in an abusive relationship not too long ago, with a good-looking, successful, and wealthy person similar to the abuser depicted in this film, that lasted for several years. Like the family in this film, we lived in the suburbs where no one suspected a thing, but of course underneath that manicured exterior he was abusing me. It was relatable and refreshing to see my experience represented on screen.

Mind you, this film is by no means perfect. It feels campy and cheesy for much of the runtime due to the extremity of some actions taken by characters. And the couple sex scenes feel gratuitous. But at the same time, that can all be forgiven as the extremeness and high tension only adds to the fun in this little popcorn flick.

And for those who've been in abusive relationships, particularly with wealthy partners, this film offers the added benefit of being therapeutic. You should know that you're not alone, that there is help out there, and you can always leave the abuse behind.

Enjoy this throwback to the thrillers of the 90s. It's fun.

The Housemaid arrives with a curious mix of expectations and skepticism. Sydney Sweeney's recent box office outings haven't exactly set the world on fire, and opening opposite the latest Avatar installment doesn't do the film any favors commercially. Going in, expectations are understandably tempered. But surprisingly, The Housemaid doesn't take long to find its footing and when it does, it leans hard into its psychological thrills.

The real engine of the film is Amanda Seyfried, who delivers a chillingly unhinged performance as Nina Winchester, a wealthy housewife whose polished exterior begins to fracture almost immediately. Seyfried plays Nina with a simmering instability... her smiles linger too long, her outbursts hit without warning, and her behavior steadily escalates from eccentric to outright disturbing. It's one of those performances where you're constantly bracing for the next emotional whiplash.

Sydney Sweeney stars as Millie Calloway, a young woman with a troubled past who takes a live-in housekeeping job out of sheer necessity. Millie is observant, cautious, and quietly unsettled by Nina's erratic behavior, but her fragile position in life makes walking away impossible. Sweeney's performance is restrained, sometimes almost too much so, but that muted quality works early on as Millie tries to survive rather than confront what's happening around her.

As expected, Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar) enters the equation, and the film follows a familiar erotic-thriller path: lingering looks, late-night drinks, and one bad decision that sends Nina spiraling. At this point, The Housemaid feels like it's heading toward a predictable third-act meltdown.

That's where the film earns its credit.

Instead of saving its biggest twist for the finale, The Housemaid flips the script near the end of the second act, shifting the narrative focus squarely onto Millie. From that moment on, the film becomes something darker and far more interesting. The power dynamics change, motivations are recontextualized, and Millie's character steps fully into the spotlight.

While this isn't Sydney Sweeney's strongest individual performance, her chemistry with Brandon Sklenar is what ultimately elevates the film. Together, they give the latter half of The Housemaid a sharper edge, grounding the psychological turns in something more emotionally believable. Their scenes add tension without relying solely on shock value, allowing the story's darker implications to breathe.

Director Paul Feig, stepping away from comedy, handles the genre shift with confidence. The film is sleek, intimate, and deliberately uncomfortable, leaning into paranoia and emotional manipulation rather than outright violence. It may not reinvent the erotic thriller, but it understands the genre well enough to play with audience expectations.

The Housemaid isn't flawless, and it won't silence every criticism aimed at Sweeney's recent career trajectory. But thanks to Amanda Seyfried's standout performance and a well-timed narrative twist, it's far more compelling than it initially appears.

Hate to be cliche and be another one who says "the book is better than the movie!!" But that truly is the case here.

The first half of the movie felt like a weird low budget film that was just trying to set up a scene of Sydney Sweeney topless. It was weird vibes and just really felt rushed until her intimate scene.

After that, it actual felt like the real thriller story it should have been.

With that said, maybe I'm just not a Sydney Sweeney fan... I found her acting to be so dry and dull. Amanda on the other hand saved the entire film and was great.

The film overall was bleh. If I hadn't read the book, I would think it was fine. But remembering how into the book I was, it fell short for me. I wouldn't rewatch it.

Homeless, jobless and just released from a ten year prison sentence for manslaughter Millie (Sydney Sweeney) accepts an unexpected position as a housemaid in the wealthy Winchester household in Nassau, Long Island. The behaviour of mother of one Nina (Amanda Seyfried) then becomes increasingly erratic and abusive towards Millie at the same time as a relationship starts to develop between Millie and Nina's husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar). Desperate not to lose her job, which carries the risk of a return to gaol, Millie is taken on a terrifying psychological rollercoaster ride in which seemingly nothing is as it first appears. Filmed in New Jersey this 2025 feature film is a psychological mystery thriller based on the novel by Freida McFadden (as adapted for the screen by the hilariously named Rebecca Sonnenshine), and directed by Paul Feig, having the same kind of twisting and turning plot as Feig's impressive 'A Simple Favour'. Visceral, contrived, at times unconvincing, more than a touch operatic, tinged with occasional humour, and extremely manipulative as a story (one of the film's main themes of course is manipulation) the film deals with a number of themes and issues including gender, class, silent hidden victims (whether through exploitation in employment or domestic partner abuse), and the socially damaging effects of the so called 'justice system' (stigma, discrimination, amongst other things) and mental health system (the common problem of misdiagnosis - and worse - by doctors). And like any good thriller of this sort it saves one of it's twists til the end, involving Andrew's mum Evelyn (Elizabeth Perkins).

I went into this film not having read the book beforehand, so I went into it without knowing all the twists and turns. And from perspective I can say that it is a really good thriller with well executed twists and reveals The psychological aspects of the film is also really well done at making mentally tense moments carry out to the audience, making the audience experience the uncomfortable feeling of being gaslit and manipulated.

The main cast also delivers really solid performances. Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney have excellent chemistry on screen and they both play really well against each other.

My only problem with the film is Michele Morrone's character, who simply did not work for me. He felt out of place, didn't do much, and it wasn't really clear of why he was there how his character came into the picture of the plot.

But all in all this is a great film for people who like a good, well executed thriller.