Eileen
Eileen
The stagnant waters of Eileen's dull, stifled life as a solitary worker at a juvenile detention center in 1960s Boston, are unexpectedly disrupted when the institution brings in a new psychologist, the vibrant Rebecca. The fervent enthusiasm that blossoms between the two women almost immediately gives way to a closer relationship, until their fragile connection takes a dramatic turn.
Kevin Ward reviewedJuly 2, 2025
Thomasin McKenzie plays Eileen Dunlop, a repressed young prison secretary that becomes enamored by the intoxicating lure of the new prison psychologist, Rebecca Saint John, played by Anne Hathaway. Eileen often gets lost in fantasy, whether it’s touching herself, lusting after one of the prison guards at work, or blowing someone’s brains out with her alcoholic father’s old police firearm. So when Rebecca takes notice and Eileen, giving her the attention she so craves, Eileen is enticed to do anything to keep Rebecca’s affection.
I’m having a hard time finding a thematic through line for the film. There is a narrative turn in the final act that is surprising, for sure, but feels thematically empty. And then…roll credits. My wife had read the book and thought the film was mostly faithful to the source material, but pretty much felt the same—that there’s not much of a point to the story. Pretty disappointing. Didn’t help that the woman next to my wife was coughing and hacking the entire movie while checking her phone constantly, and the guy next to me was literally snoring for the last 40 minutes.