Review of The Housemaid (2010) by Timothy S — 31 Mar 2012
Some excellent performances (especially Jeon Do-yeon) and riveting, imaginative cinematography make this film worth seeing, and the final images are indelible. I agree with the reviewer who referenced Claude Chabrol's sardonic view of class relations, but the film is less effective in exploring this theme than Chabrol's own work.
The film required scriptorial, and directorial, attention to character (Eun-yi and Hoon in particular) that would have made it more roundly satisfying. Eun-yi was too innocent, absent the suppressed and fruitless ambition that caused her to covet the unattainable, so that her explosion is less than it might have been.
And Hoon would have been more realized if his flirtation with self-destruction, indeed his infatuation with it, was better expressed. Still, provocative and interesting.
This review of The Housemaid (2010) was written by Timothy S on 31 Mar 2012.
The Housemaid has generally received positive reviews.
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