The Housemaid

A Erotic thriller (or something of that nature)

More that 12 hours after watching The Housemaid, I still don’t know what to make of it. The picture’s US distributor, IFC Films, is calling it an "erotic thriller." Erotic? Definitely. I wouldn’t be surprised if it received an NC-17 rating (IFC is releasing it unrated). Thriller? Not in the sense that Hollywood, Indiewood, European, and Japanese cinema have taught us the meaning of that word.

One thing I know for sure: I loved this movie. With its spotless, almost antiseptic imagery, its difficult-to-read protagonist, and its sense of a world and a class system deeply out of joint, this one creeps into your bones and makes you shutter.

The story begins when a young woman (Do-yeon Jeon) takes a job as a nanny and second-tier maid for a very wealthy couple. The wife, who looks about as young as the housemaid, is very pregnant–with twins.

Trouble begins when the husband seduces the maid–if seduces is the right word. Can sex be truly consensual in this situation? It takes a while to realize that the housemaid wants it as much as he does.

The wife, her mother, and the older, more experienced maid know that the young girl is pregnant before she knows it herself. The adultery itself doesn’t bother them much–you have to expect that with a born-wealthy husband. The real threat to them is in the housemaid’s womb.

Who can the protagonist trust, and who is out to hurt her? It’s not always easy to tell. Characters switch sides, but when they do, it never feels like plot manipulation. Writer/director Sang-soo Im knows how human beings behave in the real world, where self-interest and our better natures fight constantly for our souls.

A sense of foreboding and dread hang over the film, but the suspense seldom rises to Hitchcockian levels. Nor do I believe it was supposed to. That’s one reason I hesitate to call it a thriller.

The other reason concerns the shocking and utterly bizarre ending. From my western cultural perspective, the ending made no sense–either as story-telling or realistic motivation. But it’s going to stay with me for a very long time.