The Housemaid: Finding Perfect Escape Hatch

Last Saturday was Valentine’s Day, and as usual there were a lot of couples celebrating it, and it was evident my feed was filled with pictures of couples and bouquets of flowers. I’m not in a relationship, so I can’t relate with all the buzz that’s happening there, so I decided to not visit it for a day. I’m not bitter; it’s just that I don’t wanna see pretentious couples that are only on good terms during there are occasions. I knew some of them, and I did see a lot of pics of them celebrating ideally—like the usual lovey-dovey couple, but on normal days, they’re quite chaotic and even unhinged at times. Speaking of unhinged, I just finished watching a movie that also has that kind of couple. Yet unlike the real ones I knew, the couple here is much more unhinged, and again it reminded me that you should be more than wise in choosing your life partner because once you mess up, you’ll regret it…painfully.

So, without further ado, let’s scratch the surface of the housemaid who changed the lives of her new employers—one for better and one for worse.

About the Movie

The Housemaid is a psychological thriller movie that was released last year, on December 19. This more than two-hour movie was directed by Paul Feig, written by Rebecca Sonnenshine, and based on the first installment of Freida McFadden’s The Housemaid series. Honestly, I’ve been meaning to read that book series, and I even had a book of it in my online shopping cart, yet I always forgot to check it out first. My book haul for last month, which consists of four books, already arrived, so I can’t—at this moment—check it out because if I do so, I’ll definitely be broke. Anyway, back to the movie, it started with Millie entering her possible new employer’s house. The first meeting with Nina Winchester went smoothly, and it’s apparent that she’s hopeful that she’ll get the job. Fortunately, she did get it; however, just when she hoped that things would be better, strange events started to unfold.

The once-perfect Winchester couple started to act strangely, especially Nina, who seemed to get more forgetful and hot-tempered as days went on. Millie constantly became the one who got caught in between Nina’s unpredictable mood swings, yet despite that, she endured until eventually she discovered something sinister. Along with that, she also finds herself slowly getting entangled with the charming Mr. Winchester, who day by day was getting fed up with his wife. Just when things became in favor with Millie, an unexpected secret was cracked, and it’s definitely something that she never expected. After all, not all knight in shining armor are meant to save the damsel in distress, and she’s bound to learn it the hard way…like all the girls he saved.

What kind of monsters are we?

Well, that line should have been a tip-off of the entire plot of this movie. Like I mentioned, I haven’t read its source material, and even though I already have an idea on how things will eventually go, I still didn’t expect the twist to go that hard. There is already a lot of foreshadowing, especially in the first few minutes of the movie. Even the seemingly harmless dialogues turn out to be crucial clues on how things will end. The dialogues were brilliant because the first time I watched it, they seemed casually made, but when I rewatched it later on, I realized how most of it was intentional—especially Nina’s part, I didn’t see her backstory coming.

I’m really amazed at how well the actors and actresses portrayed their characters because in the first half I was really led to the wrong assumption. Perhaps my deduction skills dulled, or it’s just how the point of view was shown that fooled me. There are just a few times that the characters slipped out of their pretentions, and I just noticed that when I rewatched it. Andrew’s act as a perfect husband undeniably fooled Millie and, at some point—also me. Indeed, it’s always the man with the perfect smile that hides a flawed personality, and even in real life I’ve encountered dozens of people like that.

As for the set, I like how the house mirrored who the Winchesters truly are. It may look ideal and inviting outside, but once you get in, it feels strangely eerie and unhomely. The way things were so arranged and in order kinda freaked out my eyes because I usually don’t pay attention to sets like that, yet when I watched this movie, I couldn’t help but to do so. Further, I love how this movie used a lot of deep colors and muted colors because they really evoke a suspenseful and creepy feeling in me, and also—it’s intriguing why Nina usually wears white. It was really a contrast to the dark and serious tone that those deep colors give off, yet when I finished it, I realized it’s a juxtaposition of the true state she’s in and prolly a hint in between.

Honestly, the first half was quite slow, though there’s already that tension, yet there were a few times I got sidetracked while watching it. Also, I felt that there’s more to Enzo’s character, but I think it just felt short in utilizing him. I thought he has more relevance to the plot—I just felt disappointed when his character just vanished when he got fired, like, is that it? Anyway, with those flaws aside, it’s a decent movie with an amazing cast. The breaking of heirloom dishes was extremely rewarding, and it was one of the scenes I rewatched along with the confrontation part of Andrew and Nina. The dialogue in that part was so hooking, and there’s no way I could forget how well Amanda Seyfried delivered her lines. I could feel the rage and the almost pity in her voice, and that was just so satisfying. And also, weird as it may sound…I laughed at times, especially when Millie boxed the hell out of Andrew. It’s so amusing seeing that douche getting the payback he deserves—his perfect smile included.

Overall, this movie was a compelling thriller because even though I got sidetracked at some point, I didn’t pause it and leave it for later. I ultimately finished it, and I’m glad I did because the ending was extremely promising and satisfying. Wait, before I forget, its soundtrack was also something worth mentioning because I like how cool it sounds. Some were familiar, while for some I especially fell in love with them—Blue Bayou and Take me as I am. It’s been a while since I liked a movie’s soundtrack, so I can’t miss the opportunity to share how I like it. So much for that, this movie is a 9/10 for me, and would I recommend it? Well, if you’re up for a thriller and suspense, then I guess you would also enjoy this one.

Have you watched this movie already? Or is this your first time seeing it? Well, if you have something in mind that you would like to share, feel free to comment below. And that would be all for now, everyone~ Thanks for reading up until here, and I hope you somewhat enjoyed reading my review. See you around, and hope you'll have a productive week ahead!