“Eileen” Sundance Film Review: This is what happens when female loneliness and anger collide

Eileen, directed by William Oldroyd and written by Ottessa Moshfegh and Luke Goebel, based on Moshfegh’s book of the same name. The film stars Thomasin Mackenzie, Anne Hathaway and Shea Whigham.

Eileen (Mackenzie) opens with the title character sitting in her car on the beach watching a couple do their makeup. Her arousal peaks like a voyeur shoving ice cream into her pants to cool off, so to speak. The 24-year-old is the loner type who works as a prison receptionist. She has her eye on one of the prison guards and in her free time at work she lets her imagination run wild when it comes to the possibilities of a date.

Her mother is dead and she now lives with her father (played by Shea Whigham), a retired police officer and rampant alcoholic. When Eileen came home from work one day, she saw the police trying to calm him down as he drunkenly waved a gun in the middle of the street. She immediately escalates the situation and instead of thanking her for preventing his arrest, the man insults her. His disdain for his own child is clear and encourages her to live a life and not be such a boring jerk.

Dr. Rebecca St. John (Hathaway), a mysterious woman who arrives as a new hire at work – and the young receptionist loves her. The doctor flirts with her, is affectionate and is the only one who tells Eileen that she is capable of more in life. Is wrapped around the doctor’s finger and ready to sacrifice everything at this moment. What she is willing to do is another matter.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Ottessa Moshfegh and believe it or not, the film’s story fills in some of the gaps in her book. There are also many lines of dialogue in the script that foreshadow what is to come. We know Eileen is going to reach breaking point, audiences are just waiting to see who or what will be the catalyst. The wait makes the film a disturbing noir, and trust me, the wait is worth it.

The two main actors, Mackenzie and Hathaway, simply exude sex appeal and dominance in their performances. Mackenzie’s ability to alternate between nutty and insane is masterful, and when Eileen is finally in her power, it’s seductive. Hathaway celebrates as Dr. Rebecca. Her character is so flirtatious, cool and confident that I blushed at times. The actress’s gaze cuts right through you, and it’s the kind of talent that comes with relaxation and so much fun.

Eileen leans towards pulp and camp atmosphere but doesn’t go far enough with weirdness. As a young woman looking for connection, she was looking for someone, someone to give her attention, and Rebecca was it. With all the build up and all the fluff, why not delve further into the strange story? I don’t know how to describe how this film is simultaneously queer and at the same time a kind of queer bait for its audience. I’m tired of seeing this trope in LGBTQ content. Forgive Moshfegh and Goebel, because this script is a balanced mix of the hysterical and the macabre while maintaining the female gaze.

Towards the end of the movie I had this theory about how dr. Rebecca St. is not real and was a figment of Eileen’s wild imagination. And when she finally leaves her father and the city behind, will she continue as she is, or is she a stylized version of who she wants to be? The ambiguity serves the film well.