"The housemaid" does not want to be sophisticated and that's fine The protagonists are Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney, for a work with "good for her" vibes
The Housemaid is exactly what you would expect it to be. There’s no point in acting surprised by the dose of camp, turning up your nose at the blatant narrative hyperbole driving the events, or even finding the sudden interest of the character Andrew Winchester (played by Brandon Sklenar) in the new housemaid of the Sydney Sweeney household predictable and painfully obvious, complete with that extra touch of mom-friendly eroticism, usually paired with a few soft pop tracks. To fully understand it, we need to remember that the film is directed by Paul Feig, a key detail in grasping the nature of the project, consciously crafted with a taste for excess and a flair for theatrical, melodrama-tinged spectacle.
The Housemaid: plot and cast of the kitsch thriller starring Sydney Sweeney
The novel that inspired The Housemaid is the eponymous work by writer Freida McFadden, adapted for the screen by Rebecca Sonnenshine. Feig’s direction is what truly makes the difference: a filmmaker who has long orbited comedy and knows how to stuff it with the absurdity of the most straightforward kitsch, disguising it behind lavish mansions and flashy outfits. It’s worth remembering that before adapting McFadden’s story, Feig was the mastermind behind A Simple Favor (2018), a spirit he failed to fully preserve in its 2025 sequel, Another Simple Favor. This time, however, he seems keen to make amends, even bringing along Michele Morrone from that film, here cast as the gardener.
As his leads, Feig chooses Amanda Seyfried, whose versatility takes her from Mona Fastvold’s musical biopic The Testament of Ann Lee to this thriller-melodrama, where she is paired with Sydney Sweeney. Sweeney, by now, seems to attract more attention for controversies surrounding her than for her acting, remaining in the spotlight for alleged Republican sympathies and a certain fondness for jeans. Not even a strong marketing campaign pairing her with her more established co-star appears to have helped her image, which currently, at least on the American corners of the internet, seems somewhat tarnished. Thankfully, Seyfried proves once again that she can command the scene wherever she goes, not just through presence but thanks to a disarming, natural lightness.
Review of The Housemaid: entertainment with room for reflection
Despite the unlikely pairing showcased during the promotional tour, Sweeney and Seyfried fully embrace the Desperate Housewives-style atmosphere that underpins The Housemaid, enriched by a lurking intrigue ready to surface when the audience least expects it. It’s a tug-of-war between the upper-middle-class polish of the central family and the rot hidden beneath, serving as a reflection on gender-based violence that avoids moralizing at the expense of the thriller itself. Instead, it uses the codes of suspense to turn entertainment into a mirror of a reality riddled with dysfunctions and obsessions, overtly morbid, yet capable of blending cinematic escapism with post-viewing reflection.
Self-awareness saves the film, which stays true to itself
The Housemaid ultimately falls into the “good for her” category, showing a certain degree of solidarity toward its female characters, even if it arrives somewhat late in narrative terms. The excess of the story, with its oversized emotional core, is deliberately part of a gaudy whole that nevertheless delivers a genuine emotional pull by the end. It’s a film that is honest about its own nature from the very beginning, leaving deception merely as a narrative hook to be uncovered along the way, neither a refined, heartbreaking melodrama nor a film disguised to pretend it is one.
