One thing is clear, though: every moment in the script has been calculated to the smallest detail. Nothing that happens during the film’s first half, while entertaining, is too off-putting or unexpected. Once Rebecca enters the story, the script slowly increases in intensity as Eileen begins to adopt a more daring lifestyle–getting drunk at the bar, carrying her father’s gun around and sticking up for herself. The film’s visual style echoes this idea, relying on simple shots and cuts to show the snowy Massachusetts winter. The first act introduces audiences to Eileen’s daily routine, hammering in at the mundaneness of her job and home life. But, as she quickly discovers, Rebeca’s intentions are more complicated than they initially appeared.Įileen is a deeply slow-burning film. As she learns more about Rebecca, including her odd therapeutic practices, Eileen begins to fall in love with her new acquaintance. In Eileen’s eyes, Rebecca’s lifestyle perfectly embodies the one she desires: one filled with mystery, intensity and, above all, riskiness. John (Anne Hathaway), a new psychiatrist working at the prison.Įileen and Rebecca instantly hit it off, and the two begin to spend more time with one another, both at and outside of work. Things all change when she meets Rebecca St. Living with her father (Shea Whigam), an alcoholic ex-cop, Eileen spends her days caring for those around her, hiding her intense desire to experience the more taboo parts of life. Set in 1960s Massachusetts, Oldroyd’s film centers around Eileen (Thomas McKenzie), a shy and reserved 24-year-old woman who works at a prison. The film is an adaptation of famed author Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel of the same name. William Oldroyd’s Eileen is a slow-paced, surprisingly twisty thriller built upon two great performances and a fascinating script.

Ottessa moshfegh eileen review