“The Housemaid” hits theaters as one of the most anticipated films. “The Housemaid” is eagerly awaited for several reasons. First and foremost, it features a very glamorous cast that includes the superstar of the moment, Sydney Sweeney, capable of setting social media ablaze with her beauty. But the beauty showcase isn’t limited to Sweeney’s presence: the cast also includes the beautiful Amanda Seyfried and the statuesque Brandon Sklenar.
The novel “The Housemaid” was a huge success.
Another factor that suggests a strong box office success is the film’s literary origins. “One of the Family ” is, in fact, a fairly faithful adaptation of Freida McFadden’s novel of the same name, which became a veritable publishing sensation with over 10 million copies sold worldwide. In Italy, the book was published by Newton Compton Editori.
Freida McFadden comes from a predominantly scientific background. Raised in the heart of Manhattan with her brother, after her parents’ early divorce, the American author followed in her family’s footsteps, both working in the medical field. Her academic journey led her to study mathematics at Harvard before continuing to medical school.
Today, McFadden is a physician who has never abandoned her great passion for writing. Indeed, she herself has repeatedly emphasized how her scientific background has profoundly influenced her narrative style, contributing to the rigorous construction of her plots and a particular attention to psychological detail. Furthermore, maintaining a solid medical career during the early stages of her literary journey has guaranteed her financial stability, allowing her to invest more confidently in promoting her books.
The publication of “The Housemaid ” in 2022 marked a turning point in her career, establishing her among the general public after having already established herself in the contemporary crime scene. With her growing success as a writer, McFadden has gradually reduced her medical practice, now practicing only part-time, one or two days a week. A truly enviable achievement.
That material was bound to become fertile ground for a film adaptation. This writer is one of the more than 10 million readers who have read “The Housemaid,” so when we entered the theater for the press screening of “One of the Family,” we knew what we were getting into.
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The plot
The story of “One of the Family” centers on Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a woman with a troubled past, desperate for work and a roof over her head. She decides to interview for a job as a housekeeper for the very wealthy New York Winchester family. The interview takes place in a luxurious mansion somewhere in New York State, elegantly secluded amid a sea of anonymous suburban homes.
This villa is accessed via a long driveway, past electronic gates that metaphorically draw a clear dividing line that seems to separate two worlds: the glossy upper-middle-class one and the working-class, proletarian one. This image of opulence is contrasted by Millie, who drives with palpable nervousness, wearing fake glasses in an attempt to appear more mature and trustworthy, on her way to her interview, hoping that future employers won’t notice the disturbing inconsistencies in her resume.
Nina Winchester (Amanda Seyfried), the blonde landlady with the impeccable smile and artificial gaze, welcomes her. With a warmth that oscillates between warm and distant, Nina seems to immediately warm to Millie and describes the expected tasks: cooking, cleaning, and caring for her young daughter, Cece ( Indiana Elle ).
Completing the family portrait are Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar), the extremely rich and handsome head of the family, and Enzo ( Michele Morrone ), the villa’s gardener, a shy and dark man whose magnetic gaze communicates more than any words.
For Millie, this job seems to represent a turning point in a life that until then had brought her only suffering, and she enthusiastically accepts the assignment. From her first day on the job, however, Millie discovers that behind the villa’s impeccable exterior lies a very different reality. The rooms are suddenly reduced to squalid chaos, and Nina explodes in fits of venomous and uncontrolled rage, placing all the blame on Millie.
Adding to the chaos is her husband Andrew, who, in trying to reassure and defend Millie by downplaying everything that’s happening, does nothing but make himself dangerously attractive, fueling a sexual tension that, at a certain point, becomes too much to bear.
Pros and cons of the original work
“A Family,” as a faithful film adaptation of the novel on which it is based, inherits its strengths and weaknesses. Among its strengths are a fairly brisk pace and a fluidity that make it compelling and interesting to watch.
The novel has a very simple structure, consisting of very short paragraphs (two pages maximum) and a dry writing style that favors the sequential unfolding of events over character development. The novel, despite its success, certainly won’t be remembered for its author’s refined writing. In this sense, “The Housemaid” already seems to have been written with the intention of being adapted for the big screen. Screenwriter Rebecca Sonnenshine likely didn’t have to undertake any particularly complex work to produce the script for this feature film.
The most obvious flaw in “The Family ” lies in the constant accumulation of plot twists and narrative reversals, which are too often forced and require the viewer to exert considerable suspension of disbelief. Paul Feig, a director best remembered for the 2016 reboot of ” Ghostbusters, ” imbues the film with a subtle satirical streak and dark humor that openly nods to the erotic thrillers so popular in the 1990s.
“ One of the Family ” seems to hark back to that cinematic genre built on an explosive mix of desire, betrayal, and danger, in which suspense and psychological and sexual tension fueled the narrative engine. It’s hard not to think of “ The Hand That Rocks the Cradle ” (1992), directed by Curtis Hanson, a film that follows narrative paths similar to those chosen by Feig (you can stream it on Disney+ ). Considering that the source material is the work of a doctor, it’s ironic that one would need a lobotomy to unreservedly accept the narrative leaps and strains that this somewhat absurd story imposes.
“Una di Famiglia ” swings dizzyingly, like a roller coaster ride, between the classic psychological thriller of the first part, the black comedy steeped in satire against the glossy and hypocritical bourgeois universe of the middle section, and then plummets into a modern gothic horror (with #MeToo elements mixed into the mix) in the final segment of the film, where violence and madness exceed threshold levels.
Amanda Seyfried steals the show
As for the cast, “One of the Family” seems to be the perfect film to showcase Sydney Sweeney’s acting chops. We can’t stress enough that Sweeney, besides being a beautiful woman, is also a highly talented actress. We adored her in “ Eden ” and believe her performance is the best you’ll find in “ Immaculate .” Despite our enormous respect for the American actress, it’s Amanda Seyfried who completely steals the show.
In a recent interview with an Italian national newspaper, Seyfried—who has already garnered several Golden Globe and Oscar nominations—revealed that she has suffered from impostor syndrome for many years. If you’re still suffering from this psychological condition, we recommend revisiting her performance in “One of the Family.”
Seyfried is literally irresistible when she engages in a deliberately over-the-top performance, artificial yet consistent with the film’s narrative, especially when Nina loses control, screaming and cursing at poor Millie. Her gaze, amplified by her large, round, icy eyes, becomes glassy when the character destroys the surrounding environment: a work of body and facial expressions, from our perspective, simply extraordinary.
An imperfect film that entertains
” One of the Family ” fits into the modern gothic thriller genre, a genre we wanted to pay homage to by quoting, in the title of this review, a famous line from the extraordinary Shirley Jackson in ” The Haunting of Hill House. ” Unfortunately, the comparison with the classics is merciless: “One of the Family ” undoubtedly offers enjoyable entertainment, but it cannot be considered an entirely successful novel. This is partly due to the source material, which, despite the novel’s great success, presents some structural weaknesses.
