Sydney Sweeney (Millie) and Amanda Seyfried (Nina) in 'The Housemaid,' directed by Paul Feig. DANIEL MCFADDEN/LIONSGATE/METROPOLITAN FILMEXPORT
LE MONDE'S OPINION – WHY NOT
Originally self-published on Amazon in 2022, The Housemaid by Freida McFadden has now sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide, propelled by both Amazon's powerful algorithm and the viral nature of social media. Those who have not read the book will quickly understand what made its recipe so nearly unstoppable. On the one hand, a domestic thriller packed with revelations and cliffhangers, and on the other, major contemporary themes (class relations, feminism, domestic violence) rapidly mixed together in the impure style of a pulp novel.
The plot follows Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a poor woman with a troubled past who is hired as a housemaid by the Winchesters, a couple with a child living a peaceful life in a large, isolated house. The Winchesters seem the ideal family: The house is magnificent, the handsome husband, Andrew Winchester (Brandon Sklenar), dotes on his wife, Nina (Amanda Seyfried), a mistress of the house who is especially attentive to making Millie feel at home.
But a series of small incidents gradually reveals the flip side of this picture-perfect scene: Nina's behavior grows increasingly erratic and humiliating, soon casting a reign of terror over the household. Faced with the danger of the "mad wife" (in the tradition of Jane Eyre), the housemaid and Andrew dangerously grow closer…
