Eileen is based on Ottessa Moshfegh’s 2015 novel of the same name. Directed by William Oldroyd, Moshfegh adapted the psychological thriller film with her husband Luke Goebel. Set in 1960s Boston, Eileen trails a parasitic bond between the titular character and Rebecaa, working at a juvenile correction facility. The cast includes Thomasin McKenzie as Eileen Dunlop, Anne Hathaway as Rebecca, Shea Whigham as Jim Dunlop, Marin Ireland as Rita Polk, Sam Nivola as Lee Polk, Owen Teague as Randy, Jefferson White as Buck Warren, Tonye Patano as Mrs. Stevens, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan as Mrs. Murray.
Eileen Reviews Round-Up
Eileen premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023. It began a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 1, 2023, before a wide release on December 8, 2023. Therefore, the first Eileen reviews are now out and are pretty decent. Here, check for yourself.
Alissa Wilkinson (New York Times) – There’s no lesson here, no revelation, no good vibes to wander away with. Spiky and cold, it’s a bitter holiday treat.
David Fear (Rolling Stone) – McKenzie begins to flex even more of her extremely well-honed actorly chops, and Hathaway shows us that her ice-cold-blonde exterior houses an even chillier soul.
Hoai-Tran Bui (Inverse) – Based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Ottessa Moshfegh, Eileen is a moody, morbidly ghoulish maze of a movie that evokes the best Hitchcockian suspense thrillers.
Peter Bradshaw (Guardian) – The performances from Hathaway and McKenzie are vehement and watchable, but the film itself is an unsatisfying and anticlimactic oddity.
Kyle Turner (Slant Magazine) – The film is a pulpy phantasmagoria of fear and desire, offering visions of queer ecstasy within the confines of multiple prisons.
Alejandra Martinez (Austin Chronicle) – Eileen is a pretty close adaptation of the mood of Moshfegh’s stories, even though some lost elements dull the author’s unique and singular voice. If the script meanders its way toward its unsettling end, it still manages to stay compelling.
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