Director William Oldroyd adapts an Ottessa Moshfegh novel into the latest Christmas psychological thriller. Eileen stars Thomasin McKenzie as Eileen Dunlop, a young woman working at a corrections facility for teenage boys. Her world changes when a new psychologist named Rebecca (Anne Hathaway) joins the staff and lets Eileen in on a dark secret. This movie is a fascinating experience. Although it’s rough around the edges and far from one of the better films of the year, it explores its themes quite well and creates an atmosphere unlike many movies of recent times.
Oldroyd beautifully immerses you in 1960s Massachusetts. He and cinematographer Ari Wegner craft a snowy texture that feels unique to this time period in the days leading up to Christmas. For all intents and purposes, Eileen is a Christmas movie, but not like what you would expect. The opening scene features our protagonist watching a couple making out in a car in the distance. Aroused, she takes snow and shoves it into her pants. From the get-go, she is established as a character with strong sexual urges with a need to take control of them and find a way to quench herself.
The film wisely spends time not only on her work life, but her home life as well. We get a glimpse into her relationship with her paranoid, abusive father Jim (Shea Whigham). Jim has become a bit of a danger to other people in his neighborhood, and Eileen finds herself responsible of keeping him in check. Her home life, as tragic and uncomfortable as it is, has wonderful effects on the narrative. Eileen’s occasional fantasies of killing herself and her father persist throughout the film, shocking the audience as you wonder how dark this movie can possibly get. You wonder what the writers have up their sleeves and where they will push the titular character.
Suddenly, Rebecca joins the prison staff. Hathaway has been one of the most reliable actresses in Hollywood for years. She brings an aura to Rebecca unlike any other. She is alluring, showcasing her beauty and glamor and creating the feeling that all that attention-grabbing appeal is a facade. Rebecca and Eileen soon go to a bar together, where their encounters become increasingly close-knit, progressively inching you to its final destination in the third act. Much of the film reminds one of Todd Haynes’s Carol, which also featured the inexplicable bond between two women during the Christmas season.
The relationship between Eileen and Rebecca is the pull that draws you into a film like this. As Eileen becomes increasingly fascinated with Rebecca and as Rebecca returns the favor, we get the sense that something is not right. Coupled with Eileen’s hope to be free from her household with her father, there are multiple layers that tie this movie together, all centered around the protagonist. Eileen is portrayed excellently by McKenzie, who showcases the character’s desires, frustrations, and yearning with aplomb. Furthermore, the way she plays off of Whigham’s performance allows their father-daughter relationship to become the perfect mixture of organic and disturbing.
Perhaps the most fascinating moment of the film is the turn into the third act. The first two acts can meander, taking you through many different moments without feeling like there is a strong enough narrative structure to keep you as invested as possible. However, once the screenplay throws in a revelation about the setting the characters find themselves in, the wheels begin to turn, and you’re in for a treat. Eileen enters dark places with its narrative, arriving in places that feel earned while also crafting a shockingly gruesome experience as the film enters its uncharted waters.
Although it does ultimately enter the dark places you’re expecting, there are many moments where it feels as if the psychological thriller elements could have been pushed further. The relationship between Eileen and Rebecca is interesting, but it feels as if more layers were needed to give you the adrenaline rush a film like this needs. Furthermore, although the dialogue remains naturalistic, not much of it sticks with you long after watching it. Ultimately, Eileen is also quite a passive protagonist until the final act, when she gets to take shape and become someone new.
Overall, Eileen manages to tap into something not many films do. It’s a solid, effectively unsettling psychological thriller that could have used a few narrative tweaks to improve the experience. It’s not one of the best films of 2023, but it manages to leave an impression with two magnetic lead performances and a chemistry between Hathaway and McKenzie that works for the movie’s benefit. McKenzie continues to prove herself to be a wonderful actress with her performances in films like Jojo Rabbit, Last Night in Soho, and now, Eileen. It’s not an awards contender, but it may see a cult following in a few years’ time.
SCORE: 6/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 6 equates to “Decent.” It fails to reach its full potential and is a run-of-the-mill experience.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our Eileen review.
