A new film based on a novel of the same name brings together a skilled cast of actors. Eileen brings us into the mundane, and often painful, life of a shy young woman of the same name, played by Thomasin McKenzie. Eileen is withdrawn and works at the local Moorhead Youth Prison by day where she fantasizes about affairs with male coworkers while taking care of her alcoholic and verbally abusive father Jim (Shea Whigham) by night. Soon, psychologist Dr. Rebecca St. John (Anne Hathaway) is hired at Moorhead and she befriends Eileen who is infatuated with Rebecca’s glamorous demeanor. Their friendship inspires Eileen to begin exploring a different side of herself, but things take a turn when Rebecca confides in her one night about a recent secret.
When we first meet Eileen, it is made clear that she is everything her future friend Dr. St. John is not. Aloof, repressed, and loveless. It only makes sense that she is drawn to the sexy, alluring, headstrong, sophisticated, and intelligent Rebecca who shuns the same working class Boston that Eileen feels entrapped by while embracing Eileen herself as an equal and taking an interest in her when no one else will. Eileen’s suppression of her internal desires, the desire to rid herself of her abusive father, her sexual desires, slowly begin to bubble to the surface the closer she becomes with Rebecca, a sort of increase in confidence by osmosis. The film is shown through Eileen’s eyes and on the surface level, it may appear that the naive, withdrawn young girl has been seduced by the cunning intellectual from the big city. But the flashbacks interwoven in the film depict Eileen’s mind state and show that the Eileen we see in the film had always been latent, with Rebecca’s presence just providing the push needed to reveal Eileen’s true self.
Eileen depicts the titular character’s infatuation with her newfound friend naturally in a way that fits and makes sense given the background provided and Hathaway’s depiction of Rebecca. The actress is alluring as the new doctor, sultry in a way that commands attention when she appears onscreen, but more importantly, forceful, confident, and competent professionally which is what draws Eileen to her as much as her sex appeal. The explanation is there for how the plot unfolds, but in terms of engagement, Eileen plods along more than it entertains never feeling like it rises above a character study of a figure that is just bland as the story. This is no fault of McKenzie’s, she does well in depicting a young woman yearning for something or someone to hold onto in a life that does feel as if it’s her own. But the talented young actress can only do so much with the material that she’s given. The film’s explosive ending takes a turn that may feel like a tonal whiplash for many in the audience and indeed feels a bit out of left field for Rebecca despite the film’s attempt to establish her as being somewhat mysterious. Eileen’s short runtime may also be a contributing factor in the ending feeling slightly rushed with no buildup on how its subplot reaches from point A to point B so quickly. It ends a mixed film on the low note it definitely didn’t need.
Image: NEON
