My first exposure to Amanda Seyfried was as one of Rachel McAdams’s sidekicks in Mean Girls, the ditzy Karen. But she’s proved to have a helluva range, in roles like Ted 2 and In Time. In The Housemaid, she really goes for broke.
She plays Nina, a seemingly privileged Long Island housewife who hires Millie, a seemingly typical Gen Z. But their backstories are incredible. I should know; I took a workshop on Backstory and Flashback through the Writer’s Center last week.
Anyway, Millie’s desperate for work. We see that she lives in her car with no prospects and no connections. I’ll leave the why for you to find out. But she does impress Nina enough to hire her. Millie starts on doing things like cooking, cleaning, organizing, and taking care of Cece, Nina and her husband Andrew’s daughter. But on the first day, Nina goes from Jekyll to Hyde, having a complete meltdown on Millie over some misplaced notes for a PTA meeting. She continues to play mind games with Millie while Andrew plays the role of the “nice guy,” eventually starting an affair with Millie and kicking Nina out of the house.
Of course, there’s a twist to this. I’ll tread lightly. Andrew turns out to be not so nice. In fact, he takes codependent, controlling narcissism to the extreme (not unlike some other dudes I’ve known). Nina’s much nicer and craftier than she appears, and, well, let’s just say both Nina and Millie are better off single. At least for now. The movie ends with both of them single and happy, while Andrew winds up in a “better place.” Here are a few scenes and lines that slant the movie toward a single at heart orientation, and one that gives pause toward it:
Nina meets Andrew when she’s a young, struggling single mother and legal secretary. He sees her vulnerability after she’s embarrassed by her boss and sweeps her off her feet. He does the same thing with Millie.
Millie’s parole officer asks her if she’s met any “mannies.” When Millie pushes back, the officer says, “Human connections are important,” conflating romance with connection. This advice nearly gets Millie killed.
Toward the end, Andrew said, “With me, you can have financial stability, family. Don’t you want those things?” Millie said, “I do. Just not with you.” Maybe she does want that life. Maybe she’s suited to it. Maybe she’s not. But at least she doesn’t lionize it so much that she’ll sacrifice her own well-being.