Eileen

Year of release : 2023

 

Run time : 1h38min

 

Genre : Drama

 

Cast : Anne Hathaway, Thomasin McKenzie

 

 

The movie is based on the 2015 novel by Ottessa Moshfegh.

 

It's 1964, and Eileen is a juvenile prison check-in rep. What was supposed to be a short term job turned into a long term one, as she never left her parents' home.

 

Eileen spends her days going to work, taking care of her alcoholic father who always talks down on her, and fantasizing about a co-worker,or k1lling herself and her father.

 

A new female psychologist, Rebecca, joins the staff, and Eileen is immediately drawn to her, as she likes her whole persona, the way she talks and dresses, and starts to imitate her.

 

Rebecca invites an inmate's mother to talk to her and her son, but the woman leaves angry. The same night, she goes out with Eileen (I'm not sure if they are gay or not), who drinks a lot, waking up in her car,in her own vomit.

Her father locked her out of the house, taking her car keys, seeing her hangover. He's also complaining about her always wearing her mother's clothes,like she has no personality.

Luckily for her, a cop shows up telling her her father scared the neighbors with his gun, and he promised to give it to Eileen for safe keeping.

 

Hearing Rebecca left home for the Christmas holiday, Eileen spends the whole day at her desk,in the woman's office.

 

Rebecca calls her to spend Christmas together, and when she gets there, Rebecca doesn't seem to know where the things in her own house are placed. Or maybe she doesn't because it's not her house.

 

I personally didn't like the movie, and it's most definitely not a thriller, or psychological, like it's said on Google or Wikipedia, it's a drama. Most of the time nothing happens, it's just Eileen stalking her co-worker (putting dirty snow in her pants),getting obsessed with Rebecca who's glamorous ,and it feels the kidnapping scene was put in there just so the movie would have a plot or a climax!

 

Watching the movie and finding it so dull, I was wondering just how dull was the book,as nothing ever happens! I can't believe the book won at least one award, and was nominated for others! (Reading reviews, people say the book had more plot, Rebecca was not the obsession,but the co-worker..so that explains a lot.)

One thing I liked was the movie was made to look like it was made in the '60's,although I doubt back then the tones were shades of brown!

 

The actors were great! Thomasin McKenzie is definitely typecast at this point, as she's playing almost the same role as in 'Last night in Soho' - a young woman (who's mother died when she was young) who is enchanted by another (blonde) woman, starting to act and dress like her,set in the 1960's! Even the movie is permeated with songs of the era! 'Last night in Soho' was so much better!Doesn't even compare!

 

I didn't like the soundtrack,although the songs chosen for the movie were good.

 

Eileen is 30 days free on Hulu, and is for rent / sale on Amazon Prime Video, AppleTv, is on Bundle -Disney+ and Hulu, or Hulu and Max, and can even be found at the cinema,as Fandango sales tickets.

 

Rating : Could have been a contender !