Eileen is now playing only in theaters.

When it comes to a cold, almost heartless thriller like Eileen, the deeper and farther you go, the more tension the film builds. For the most part, William Oldroyd’s psychological tumble down the cynical rabbit hole does that and then some.

However, as you will soon find out, the adaptation of the book of the same name may have had too many hands close to Eileen’s source material. Once a film is sold, the director’s job is to shape and make it their own.

Loyalty is one thing. Ending your movie as if the money for the production ran dry is another. That’s the thing about Eileen. The movie is expertly paced, with a flawless tone and three near-perfect performances, until the filmmaking team apparently ran out of film, patience, or time.

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Eileen’s Plot Summary and Review

The story follows the titular character, Eileen Dunlop (played by the wonderful Thomasin McKenzie), in 1960s Boston, Massachusetts. Eileen works in a corrections facility for teenage boys and has had a rough go of life recently. She lives with her alcoholic father, Jim (Shea Whigham), who berates her.

She has no friends. Her colleagues shun her. Eileen also has no real social life. She seems to spend most of her time fantasizing about one of the guards, daydreaming of risky sexual fantasies, suicide, and even murdering her father. Yet, that’s all about to change when she meets Rebecca (Anne Hathaway), a new prison psychologist who bucks the boys’ club and doesn’t follow the rules.

Something has awakened inside the young woman after meeting Rebecca. The ravishing therapist bucks society’s norms. She doesn’t need a man by her side and won’t let them touch her without permission. Rebecca even kisses Ms. Dunlop, leaving the viewer to wonder if Rebecca is manipulating a socially awkward woman with nefarious intentions.

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Oldroyd’s film suffers from third-act issues because it has none.

Luke Goebel and Ottessa Moshfegh wrote the script from the latter’s novel of the same name. The adaptation benefits from Goebel’s style, as he also wrote the Apple TV+ film Causeway, finding something grounded and honest in the broken Eileen character. It’s an all-too-common sign of the times when women had to hitch their wagon to someone else’s path.

Oldroyd’s seamless control and Arie Wegner’s cinematography evoke a sense of anxiety and suspicion of the era, wrapped in the classic style of the time. Eileen is a beautiful film, with the juxtaposition of its characters having a lust for life in a way women shouldn’t have at the time. You may wish the writers played up the main character’s obsession with her new friend more.

The relationship between Eileen and Rebecca has hints of Carol. However, remember, this film features working-class characters that are the salt of the earth. That’s why Hathaway’s character stands out, forming an appealing back-and-forth between a shy and aggressive character. They have terrific chemistry together.

Also Read: “It took me weeks to feel like myself again”: Anne Hathaway Detailed the Scary Aftermath of Her Brutal Diet to Get the Near Death Look in Les Miserables.

Is Eileen Worth Watching?

Eileen is not worth watching for the positive attributes because it exemplifies why “story” matters. Oldroyd’s film has no third act, which is also a problem with the source material. The story takes a vicious twist. That turn primarily concerns the great Marin Ireland’s (Hell or High Water) character and her son, incarcerated for murder, who is also under Hathaway’s Rebecca’s care.

While what transpires can be fascinating, especially when McKenzie’s Eileen evolves into taking over the more dominant role, the film fails because there’s no third act. This is not an argument that Eileen needs a nice little bow to wrap up her story. Far from it. The issue is that there’s no closure, character redemption, or accountability.

Eileen’s story, frankly, stops and falls off the metaphorical storytelling cliff. Yes, Hathaway is electric. We know McKenzie can say more with a stoic glance than most can say with a monologue. Whigham plays caustic roles like no other actor of his generation.

Yet, the unrealized third act never capitalizes on Eileen’s obsession to make the film worth sitting through. Rebecca is the match, and Eileen is the kindling, and the story desperately needs to explore the obsession to spark a third act to justify the eye-opening twist.

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5/10

 

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