Eileen (2023)

Directed by William Oldroyd. Starring Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Tonye Patano, Sam Nivola. [R]

Corrections facility worker Eileen (McKenzie) is a fragile wallflower likely fated to be pushed around, ignored, and, in the case of her alcoholic father (Whigham), abused her whole life. Then a posh new psychologist (Hathaway) arrives to join the staff, and Eileen feeds off the classy blonde woman’s poise and confidence like a vampire, an obsession taking Eileen down some dark, twisty avenues. Not what it appears to be at a glance (Todd Haynes’ Carol as a psychosexual thriller, or maybe Single White Female as a gauzy period drama); all the suggestion and teasing proves to be just a bunch of innuendo. It’s not that the script lacks the courage of its convictions, but that all the superficial baiting for misdirected crimes feels like misdemeanors against what could have been. Although the plot tends to stall out, deft performances (including stealthy MVP Shea Whigham, who recognizes that relaxed diffidence is more interesting than soused rage in the cycle of drink and abuse) and the cool elegance of Ari Wegner’s camera make it a worthy, if insubstantial, experience. Author of the same-named source novel, Ottessa Moshfegh, gets co-screenplay credit with Luke Goebel.

62/100