Eileen, 2023.
Directed by William Oldroyd.
Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Shea Whigham, Owen Teague, and Marin Ireland.
SYNOPSIS:
A woman’s friendship with a new co-worker at the prison facility where she works takes a sinister turn.
Anyone who saw William Oldroyd’s feature debut Lady Macbeth should know to expect more from his follow-up than the mere period romantic drama it initially presents itself as. The moody, provocative Eileen nimbly slingshots between genres over the course of its lithe 96-minute runtime, and in turn proves to be a festival gem simply waiting to be discovered by adventurous audiences.
Based on Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2015 debut novel – with a script also co-written by her – Eileen focuses on the titular young woman (Thomasin McKenzie) eking out a meagre existence in 1960s Boston, living with her cruel, alcoholic war veteran father (Shea Whigham), and working at the local prison where the male-dominated office grants her little respect. But everything changes when the beautiful, bewilderingly confident Dr. Rebecca St. John (Anne Hathaway) joins the staff, and Eileen finds herself quickly taken with her new colleague. But what begins as a tentative meet-cute eventually gives rise to something deeply unexpected.
In Eileen’s first scene, we witness Eileen shoving a snowball down her skirt to stem lustful feelings while watching a couple make out in a nearby car. A short while later, she daydreams at work about having sex with the establishment’s one handsome prison guard (Owen Teague) up against a wall. The point is bluntly but effectively made; Eileen is in desperate need of physical and emotional connection – especially physical – neither of which seem likely in her frosty podunk town and job rife with unappealing men who scarcely acknowledge her existence.
But after wading through the sea of “casual” sexism – the relentless “honey”s and “sweetheart”s – and even regular put-downs from her own father, she finds one person who isn’t quick to underestimate her. Rebecca is a gorgeous, glamorous woman but also intensely self-assured and unafraid to elbow a drunk lech in the face if they prove bothersome.
Eileen and Rebecca’s seemingly mutual flirtation builds a hefty head of sexual tension, but there’s nevertheless a slightly off vibe to Rebecca, that behind her pristine veneer is something left untold. Oldroyd does a fantastic job of stringing audiences along, simultaneously investing them in this potential relationship and the growing feeling that a giant shoe is eventually going to drop.
Without giving too much of the game away, that it certainly does later on, and it’s a narrative left-turn liable to frustrate about as many as it enthralls. It takes the central dynamic to a wholly new place, which some will find too jarring to embrace. Yet that seems rather the point, shifting into a scenario some will simply accept as a thriller but others will regard as an almost Coen brothers-esque farce.
The latter reading is certainly suggested by the overall darkly humorous pallor of the script. From giddy one-liners – like “It’s Massachusetts, people always sound angry” – to a few startlingly violent mid-film dream sequences, Oldroyd continually resets audience expectations, all the way to an elliptical ending again liable to irritate as many as it amuses.
The movie’s more challenging content would have a much tougher time convincing were it nor for the oft-mesmerising central acting quartet. Thomasin Mackenzie may not rock the most convincing Boston accent you’ll ever hear in your life, but makes a fair effort for a non-American, and more to the point inhabits the smouldering truth of her character with absolute conviction. Hathaway is meanwhile outstanding as the tremendously self-possessed Rebecca, the slyness of her performance absolutely vital in ensuring the overall conceit plays as intended.
Mackenzie and Hathaway’s flirtation is very fun to watch, even with the slow-creep of eeriness beginning to set in. Elsewhere Shea Whigham is stellar as ever, bringing sad life to Eileen’s PTSD-addled, unsupportive asshole of a father, and Marin Ireland owns a few brief but vital scenes as the mother of a boy being held at the prison.
This is all bolstered by robust technicals from top to bottom; recently Oscar-nominated DP Ari Wegner (The Power of the Dog) shoots and grades the film to look like it tripped and fell straight out of the 1960s, accentuated by a wonderfully jazzy musical score from The Arcade Fire’s Richard Reed Parry and a bevy of tracks from the period.
William Oldroyd’s genre-bending sophomore feature takes some bold swings which won’t hit for everyone, but the tight direction, pithy script, and strong performances from Anne Hathaway, Thomasin McKenzie, Shea Whigham, and Marin Ireland easily win out.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more film rambling.
Originally published January 24, 2023. Updated October 16, 2023.
