EILEEN (2023) - Movie Review

Director: William Oldroyd
Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Shea Whigham, Sam Nivola, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Owen Teague, Marin Ireland
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Writer: Luke Goebel, Ottessa Moshfegh
Runtime: 97 min
Rated: R for violent content, sexual content and language.
Buy This Movie: Blu-ray (Amazon), DVD (Amazon), Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV

This blog is supported by its audience. When you buy through links on my blog, I may earn an affiliate commission.

Synopsis:

Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) is a peculiar young woman -- aloof and unfazed by the gloomy nature of her job at the local youth prison. But something in her changes the day that the new counsellor, Dr. Rebecca St. John (Anne Hathaway) arrives. She is instantly captivated by Rebecca's glamorous, enigmatic presence. As the two women grow closer, Eileen is inspired to explore new facets of her own personality and desires. But her metamorphosis takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret -- throwing Eileen onto a much more sinister path.

Review:

Some movies are tough to pin to a specific genre. Most of the time it's because they're so original and well written that they transcend the boundaries of tropes and cliches and become their own unique cinematic universe, breaking new ground and showing us just how limitless creativity can be. Then there are movies like "Eileen", that don't fit the bill of any particular genre because they're so damn confusing and frustrating.

This is a movie that's all atmosphere and character building, tension and foreboding. The filmmakers don't try to manipulate us, but instead allow us to absorb every detail of the protagonist's life, learning more about how messed up her life is, and getting glimpses of her mental state. The movie's pacing is deliberately slow, which is bound to annoy many viewers, but the biggest letdown is that it all builds up to a very disappointing third act. If you can even call it a third act.

It's all the more disapponting since the movie features excellent performances from Thomasin McKenzie as the mousy and troubled titular protagonist, Shea Whigham as her drunkard father, Anne Hathaway as the sultry shrink who seduces Eileen with her radical lifestyle, and a surprising scene-stealing turn from Marin Ireland towards the end of the movie. It's also well shot and scored, immersing the viewer into Eileen's dreary world. But the third act gave me tonal whiplash, bringing in a major subplot more or less out of thin air about 30 minutes before the end, which forces the movie towards a rushed and unconvincing conclusion, muddling whatever message the filmmakers were trying to convey.

If you've seen films like "Far From Heaven", "Carol" or even "May December", you will recognize how much "Eileen" looks, sounds and feels like a Todd Haynes movie. But those are far better movies. I haven't read the novel by Ottessa Moshfegh that the movie is based on, so I can't say if the movie's failures can be blamed on the book, or just the director and script. Overall, it could have been a great movie. The talent was definitely there. But all the elements just never come together properly. I can't recommend this unless you're willing to waste 90 minutes to experience wasted potential.

SCORE: 6/10