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Eileen is a psychological thriller film directed by William Oldroyd, based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Ottessa Moshfegh. She also wrote the screenplay of the film along with her husband, Luke Goebel. The film follows the titular character, who lives in a town called X Ville, in Massachusetts in the 1960s.
She is depressed and often daydreams about dying, mostly due to her abusive relationship with her father. But things change when a counselor named Rebecca enters the scene. Both women develop a connection that points towards a romantic future.
However, things take a turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret. Rebecca abandons her at the most vulnerable point of her life, but it gives her the strength to let go of her shackles and do what she always desired.
The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival on January 21, 2023, and was released widely in the United States on December 1, 2023. The movie stars Thomasin McKenzie, Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland, Owen Teague, and Anne Hathaway.
Note: Major spoilers for the film ahead.
Rebecca abandons Eileen
At the end of the film, Rebecca leaves Eileen cold and alone, drifting in the winds of bitter winter. The counselor starts therapy with a teenager named Lee Polk who was in a detention center for the murder of his father. Eileen is surprised when Lee starts opening up to Rebecca, as he has never talked to anyone before.
One day Rebecca invites her to get some drinks after work. The two women drink, dance, and have a good time. The night ends with both of them sharing a tender kiss and sharing contact. However, Rebecca doesn't show up for work the next day.
On Christmas Eve, she receives a call from Rebecca, inviting her for drinks. She notices that Rebecca is acting differently. Rebecca reveals that they are actually in Lee's mother's house. Rebecca, suspecting that Lee was s*xually abused by his father, had arrived to question Rita Polk. The conversation got heated and, following a scuffle, they fell into the basement, where Rita was still tied up.
In the basement, Rita breaks down after being threatened and drugged. She admits that, although initially oblivious to her husband's abuse of Lee, she eventually became aware of it but didn't do anything to stop the abuse. She even admits to enjoying her husband's renewed interest in her.
The women plan to kill Rita and pin the murder on Eileen's father, who was an abusive and alcoholic man. The two load Rita into Eileen's car, and agree to meet at her house. However, Rebecca does not show up and she realizes that she has been abandoned.
Eileen kills Rita Polk
The titular character has an extremely toxic relationship with her father, with whom she used to live after her mother's death. They were co-dependent on each other for care and company. But essentially she was just an unpaid handmaiden and an object to relieve his anger and bitterness.
In later parts of the movie, she realizes that he was more than just verbally abusive to his older sister, who now used to live with her husband after marriage. This contempt for her father and his unpunished crime against her sister got her furious against Rita Polk when she confessed to being complicit in his husband's abuse of Lee.
As Rita finishes her confession, Eileen shoots her in the shoulder and plans to kill her, pin the murder on her father, and run away with Rebecca. But when Rebecca didn't show up, she took matters into her own hands and drove to a remote forest and left the still-drugged Rita in her car, which eventually filled with engine smoke, killing Rita while she was asleep. Eileen then left the town and hitchhiked to New York City, where she always wanted to go.
Final Thoughts
The film has been directed by William Oldroyd, who stays truthful to the original novel. The author of the book has also written the screenplay for the film, making a few changes but keeping the slow haunting narrative intact.
The film masterfully balances a gripping narrative with the haunting stories of abuse and neglect and is elevated by the acting prowess of McKenzie and Hathaway.
The film is available to watch on Hulu in the United States.
