322, The Handmaid

I am well aware this is no longer a new release - however having missed it at the cinema, it's recent additional to Amazon Prime made it an accessible watch for a Monday night at home.

The premise if pretty straight forward.  We learn early on that Millie (Sydney Sweeney) is a down on her luck ex-con, trying to get a job as a 'live-in' housemaid with a very exaggerated and falsified CV, in a bid to get off the streets, stay out of prison and keep her social worker happy.  Her crime?  Well, that gets explained later on however it's the lure of an amazing house and over friendly wife / boss, Nina (Amanda Seyfried) that make this opportunity too good to be true.

Enter husband Andrew (Brandon Sklenar) and seemingly spoilt brat Cece (Indiana Elle) who on meeting Millie for the first time, becomes apparent they had no idea that Nina is hiring and we enter into the first part of the movie.  

Plot - get ready, this is very quick!  

Things start out simple enough but literally come day 2, Nina's erratic behaviour and violent mood swings that appear to come from no-where and her constant lying, over time pushes Millie into the supportive arms of Andrew which of course, eventually leads to the 'inevitable' - however, all is not as it seems as the second half of this movie flips the script and you now see an empowered Millie siding with Andrew against Nina - but when Nina's story comes out - the penny starts to drop.

The culmination - a brutal encounter of get your own back (but on who?) and comeuppance for the guilty party - but I wont spoil it further than that.

It's entertaining - Seyfried is fantastic as the seeming un-hinged wife and Sweeney herself is knowingly adorable & sexy, yet carrying those hidden secrets. We have seen these two in quite a few releases over recent years however it's the portrayal of Andrew that get's my vote.  

Starring in Yellowstone's 1923 as Spencer Dutton and as Atlas Corrigan in It Ends with Us we finally get to see a different side of him compared to roles he has played before.  He's done lovelorn, heroic Cowboy and underdog, adorable love interest, but this is a step in a different direction that fits perfectly.

There are a dozen side stories going on - Andrew's requirement for adoration from the neighbourhood  PTA Mom's - all swooning in his presence & his own Mother, underrated somewhat with very little screen-time from the brilliant Elizabeth Perkins (Weeds) that they could have done so much more done with it.

It's an adaptation from the 2022 book of the same name by Frieda McFadden and is actually the first in a series of novels, so Sweeny will return as Millie in The Housemaid's Secret - alongside Seyfried, Morrone (mentioned below) and with the addition's of Kirsten Dunst & Paul Anthony Kelly (as the presumed new homeowners) in 2027 but, that aside, this outing is billed as an Erotic Thriller but I'd say there's only really one proper sexy / erotic part and considering all the 'shock' meme's regarding the content at the time of it's release, I actually thought it to be pretty tame.  Lets see what the next one brings!

My wife, (having read the book) said there were some notable changes, mainly the casting of the Groundsman - Enzo (Michele Morrone /  365 Days) who offered a very different portrayal to the elderly Groundsman in the book - and again, adding a tonne of sex appeal for absolutely no reason whatsoever as he's rarely seen thought the film - perhaps he'll get more of a showing in the sequel!

It's one of those films where once was enough - it didn't hold my interest enough to want to watch it again - and as with movies like "The Hand that Rocks the Cradle" - (similar-ish plot - albeit slightly reversed), once you know the outcome, you'll have no real reason to watch it back however as a one off - quite a cool little movie and a cheeky little eyeful for all those Sweeney / Sklenar fans to get a little bit excited about.

Fancy watching the Trailer?  Click below.............