Lakshmi“Everyone is kind of angry here. It’s Massachusetts.” Based on the novel by Ottessa Moshfegh, this sinister tale centres on Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie), a ” plain but fascinating” 24-year-old timid secretary in 1964 Massachusetts, who becomes enamoured of the ostentatious new counsellor at the prison where she works. When Rebecca (Anne Hathaway), the counsellor, divulges a sinister truth, their developing friendship quickly takes a strange turn.
A still from the film. Photo: Neon
Director William Oldroyd’s bizarre thriller begins in a relatively simple manner with a bored Eileen working a thankless job at a juvenile facility, sees a couple kissing in a car and gets sexually charged up. The woman in the car, shows up at her workplace as the new Harvard-trained therapist, introducing herself as Rebecca. Eileen, frustrated with her ex-cop alcoholic father and her life itself finds herself instantly infatuated by Rebecca. Her depressing drill alters. Eileen, starts wearing make-up and her late mother’s pretty clothes- dressed to impress. Their chemistry slowly develops, from stares and smiles across the room, to small conversations to arguments, culminating in crime.
Is it a sign of devotion? Is it friendship? Is it manipulation? Is it affection? Or is it everything at once?
McKenzie and Hathaway in action. Photo: Neon
One of the key initial shots in the movie revealing that the seemingly innocent Eileen is not as naïve as she appears is when she shows Rebecca a series of photos of a father slain by his son, a resident at the juvenile facility, and simply says, “It’s pretty bad.” The darkness unfolds like a slow burn, portraying the pure freedom and joy in Eileen’s personality as she reigns evil upon others. In one scene, Rebecca aptly describes Eileen as “plain but fascinating” and a “beautiful turbulence”.
McKenzie in a still. Photo: Neon
McKenzie’s riveting performance is what made me not leave the theatre midway. Commencing in a wild controlled and concluding with her wild uncontrolled nature, McKenzie navigated the role of Eileen brilliantly. As stunning as ever, Hathaway portrayed the alluring femme fatale Rebecca, who enjoys enforcing her sense of justice.
Sadly, the interactions between the two characters are quite less, with a few taking place in Eileen’s mind (yes, really). The dilapidated atmosphere surrounding the mangled relationships, dysfunctional thoughts and desperate escape tactics, seeps into the storyline, rendering it as a confusing, deranged and slightly tiresome movie with no true ending.
| Release Date: 2023-01-21 (Sundance) 2023-12-01 (US) | Distributor(s): Neon, Focus Features, Universal Pictures | ||||
| Cast: Thomasin McKenzie, Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland, Owen Teague, Anne Hathaway | Producers: Anthony Bregman, Stefanie Azpiazu, Peter Cron, Luke Goebel, Ottessa Moshfegh, William Oldroyd | ||||
| Director: William Oldroyd | Screenplay: Luke Goebel, Ottessa Moshfegh | ||||
| Runtime: 98 Minutes | Genres: Thriller, Psychological suspense |
Lakshmi
