Eileen (2023)

Set in 1960s Massachusetts, a young girl (Thomasin McKenzie) working in a juvenile detention facility becomes fascinated with the institution's new psychologist (Anne Hathaway). The psychologist takes a liking to the girl unaware of how unstable she is. Based on the novel by Ottessa Moshfegh (who adapted her novel for the screen) and directed by William Oldroyd (LADY MACBETH). The movie received positive reviews but I found it contrived. I've not read Moshfegh's book so I don't know how much of the film's machinations are because of the novel. While I liked the movie, it kept me at a distance rather than pulling me in. The acting is quite good but the screenplay's stratagem results in artifices that render its characters fraudulent rather than recognizably human. Plus Oldroyd teases us with a lesbian angle that's never explored and seems put there to titillate us rather than any crucial part of the narrrative. Worth seeing but an unsatisfying cinematic experience. With Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland and Sam Nivola.