Eileen (2023) is directed by William Oldroyd and stars Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, and Shea Whigham. The film follows Eileen (McKenzie), a young prison orderly who lives with her alcoholic, ex-cop father (Whigham). Eileen is desperately lonely and dreams of leaving her uneventful life behind. When a beautiful new psychologist, Rebbeca (Hathaway), begins working at the prison, Eileen develops a small obsession/crush. Rebecca is seemingly the only person willing to give Eileen any attention and Eileen latches onto this almost immediately. When Rebecca asks for a monumental favor, Eileen’s blind infatuation makes her happy to oblige. The question is: is Rebecca a true friend or just exploiting Eileen?

The lead performances here are extremely strong. Mckenzie archives this nice balance of a quiet, submissive girl who clearly has something bubbling up beneath the surface. She also gives the character a pretty believable Massachusetts accent which I found entertaining. Hathaway as Rebecca gives a performance that emulates classic film starlets of the 30’s and 40’s. The film is mostly a riff on the classic “Hitchcockian” style and even the name of “Rebecca” is a clear nod to Alfred Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940). Shea Whigham plays the standard drunk dad caricature but is perfectly cast. It was nice to see a character like this that avoids being physically abusive. He definitely verbally/emotionally abuses Eileen, but the absence of physical abuse left a small amount of space for possible redemption. It succeeds in making what would otherwise be a stock character a bit more nuanced. This is made all the more effective by certain events that occur in the third act.

One of the film’s biggest successes is its choice to present itself in a classic film noir style. We very rarely can guess how things are going to play out and individual character motives are shrouded in mystery. Likewise, the visual style is cloudy and dull, almost as if it’s trying to emulate the dull tones of black and white films. We don’t really know where things are going for a majority of the film and this adds a nice amount of tension. The problem is, the film holds its cards almost too close to its chest. If there’s never an implication that things might turn for the worst, why do I have any reason to feel on edge? It helps in maximizing the surprise, but the tension leading up to it feels retroactively like a waste of time. I was never tense because I never felt like I needed to be. As for the ending, things were a mixed bag. It’s satisfying in terms of Eileen’s character but not in terms of story or plot. It’s one of those films that gives a satisfying character arc but feels unfinished in terms of how things ultimately play out.

Overall, this is a fun little throwback thriller that succeeds in most of its technical elements. The tension is palpable, but fails occasionally in terms of execution. The story is massively unpredictable and isn’t scared to dig into deeper themes such as the cycles of abuse. It really is impressive to set out to emulate Hitchcock and ultimately succeed. Although it doesn’t reach any of Hitchcock’s heights, it uses his toolbox in interesting and entertaining ways. If you’re looking for a more reality-based thriller this holiday season, a person could do worse. B