R 2023 Mystery/Thriller 1h 38m
Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie, Jojo Rabbit) is a quiet, nearly invisible young woman who works at the local boys correctional facility in Massachusetts in the 1960s. At the start of the movie it is made clear that she fanticizes a life of romance. Her father is a former sheriff who has lost his job because of his alcoholism. During one of his benders, he tells Eileen she is the the type of person who won't make much of an impact in the world.
As harsh as her father’s words are, he may be right. McKenzie’s Eileen is the personification of timid. Her life takes a turn when the facility gets a new psychiatrist, Rebecca (Anne Hathaway). Eileen becomes romanitically fascinated with Rebecca and Rebecca does not discourage this.
McKenzie is a real talent who for some reason reminds me of Jodie Foster. I can’t think of anyone who could portray such a painfully mousey character as well. She inhabits Eileen perfectly. Anne Hathaway does a nice job as well.
Eileen is based on a book by the same name. I haven’t read it so I can’t compare them or declare it a faithful adaptation or not. I can say the movie feels like it was a book. It’s not a big movie; it’s really a study of Eileen and her character growth. It is billed as a thriller and, it is, but not until the third act. Overall, this movie was well done but I would pencil it in as a streamer rather than needing to see it in the theater.
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