Alice Oscura, Featured Writer
Plot: In this twisted, Hitchcockian-styled psychological thriller an eccentric, repressed young woman is forced to endure life in a poverty-stricken town in Massachusetts.
Background: Eileen, named after the main character in the film, is a screen adaptation of American author Ottessa Moshfegh's 2015 debut novel of the same name. The novel won the 2016 PEN/Hemingway Award for debut fiction.
Come on Eileen, oh I swear what he means
At this moment, you mean everything
Review: Set in the early 1960s, Eileen Dunlop (Thomasin McKenzie of Old, Last Night in Soho, JoJo Rabbit) works in a correctional facility for troubled teenaged boys. She's treated like an outcast by her co-workers and spends her time daydreaming about one of the security guards. Her father Jim (Shea Whigham of Boardwalk Empire) is the ex-chief of police but he's also a verbally abusive, paranoid drunk who takes pleasure in brandishing his firearm randomly at his alarmed neighbors.
Shortly before Christmas, a new psychologist named Rebecca Saint John (Anne Hathaway, The Devil Wears Prada, Rachel Getting Married) joins the staff at the facility. Rebecca's Marilyn Munroe-esque presence stands out in stark contrast against the dreary facility and its uptight, unfriendly staff. Rebecca takes a keen interest in the case of a 17-year-old named Lee Polk who fatally stabbed his father. She briefly discusses the case with Eileen during a night out for drinks at the only bar in town. The women both drink too much and before parting ways Rebecca plants a kiss on a surprised Eileen. Which makes what happens during the final act of the film very unsettling and unexpected.
Am I trying to seduce you? Of course I am. I thought you'd never notice
Eileen is slow to build on its plot and has many awkward moments. You won't hate or love the main character, but the audience can definitely sympathise with her. I don't believe that the character to begin with had what you might called a definitive personality—she's severely impressionable and lacking. Having only had a brief experience away from home for college and then having it permanently interrupted by her mother's sickness and sudden death caused an unwanted regression in Eileen's life. She is very much sexually repressed because she displays urges especially in her fantasies. However, she also totters into being mentally unstable due to the verbal abuse she suffers daily from her intoxicated father and loneliness via a lack of even the slightest friendly communication. Which is why Eileen seemed to gravitate straight into idolising Rebecca Saint John. Rebecca comes in like a breath of fresh air and a promise of something grand and different, something beyond the dingy, cloistered life of the small town.
While the dark story manages to be captivating, it's a bit disjointed in its execution onscreen. A couple sequences do stand out for eliciting that shock factor and are strategically placed in order to give the audience an insight into the disturbing thoughts and dark descent into the mind of the main character. However, the abrupt ending proves lacklustre at best, and it would have been a neater fit to add the finishing touches that the novel takes the time to develop. More notably on what actually finally happens to Eileen for better audience closure. Nothing magnificent to report home about the acting; while both female leads performed well it wasn't what I would call outstanding.
I love the taste of cigarettes in the morning. And at night too. But not in the afternoon. Definitely not
The overall atmosphere of the film is ominous and depressing. Cinematography is projected in mostly muted tones and the night scenes can be particularly dark. Eileen is a somber and unusual film that pays attention to many uncomfortable and disturbing themes. However, the anticlimactic ending may leave viewers unsatisfied.
Dark Alice's Score: 6.5 out of 10
And you can check out more thriller reviews from RMR below:
SIGHTLESS IS A HITCHCOCKIAN-STYLE PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER
EDGAR WRIGHT'S HORROR/THRILLER 'LAST NIGHT IN SOHO' HAUNTS THE 60S
RESURRECTION IS A DISTURBING, MIND-BENDING THRILLER
Dark Alice has an old soul and a curious mind. I believe that anyone can be a hero and that the good guys should always win! I dislike cruelty to animals and think that they have far superior qualities to humans. My motto is there is no future without the past. I also have a weird penchant for Paranormal TV shows even though the slightest sound makes me jump. I enjoy writing reviews and throwing in fun facts to pique the readers' curiosity. My ultimate goal in life would be to become a published writer one day. Read More
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