If plausibility doesn’t bother you, The Housemaid is kind of a scream. It does raise a question: how absurd can a psycho-thriller be while still functioning as one? The trick is a pair of combative lead performances from Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, who take turns to rule the roost.
Adapted from a 2022 bestseller by Freida McFadden, Millie (Sweeney) is a homeless drifter who has done prison time for a mystery homicide – which is already ludicrous. How the heck has she mastered her skincare regime? Nina (Seyfried) is her new boss, a polished but unhinged socialite who needs a live-in housemaid to keep the house in order, and hires Millie with the barest glimpse at a CV.
In fact, this sumptuous mansion on Long Island belongs to Nina’s suspiciously charming husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar), a hunky entrepreneur who wants to fill it with children. At present, only his surly stepdaughter (Indiana Elle) is moping around the place, and she won’t quite do. Nina tells Millie she’s expecting – hence the need for an extra pair of hands – but that Andrew is still in the dark because she doesn’t want to get his hopes up.
