Some films don’t work; you can almost forgive them for their flaws. Then some work so well you wonder where they are going and then deliver a flimsy ending that makes you want to boo the screen. Eileen is one such movie. It builds slowly, giving the audience a detailed character study brimming with style, which throws a huge curveball you never see coming, but it feels like the filmmakers have no idea how to end it. Considering the talent involved, this is a huge disappointment.

Eileen is a mousey young woman who works at a boy’s prison and lives and cares for her father, a former cop with a drinking problem. Eileen’s life is empty, and she craves excitement. Then Rebecca walks into her life. A new psychologist at the prison, she is everything Eileen dreams of being: confident, strong and sensual. They form a friendship that allows Eileen to do things she would never do, and her confidence grows. One night, when Rebecca invites Eileen to spend time with her, it turns out to be something she never would imagine.

This film has so many positives. Director William Oldroyd, who gave us the excellent Lady Macbeth, captures the period brilliantly. The early 60s has all the trappings from costumes to Eileen’s smoke-filled car. It also is filmed with a grainy early ’60s sense (using the old Universal logo helps set the tone). There is definitely an air of Hitchcock hanging in the air, from the dramatic opening title to the slow build of tension.

For the first hour, the film takes time for the audience to watch Eileen and her world. Here is a girl whose imagination is the only way to achieve sexual satisfaction. She works in a prison, and she lives in a prison with her dangerous father, who wanders the night with his gun, protecting the neighbours but actually scaring them. When she comes home drunk after meeting up with Rebecca, her father tells her to read Oliver Twist as he would appreciate the home they have. This is a woman who is trapped. As soon as the vivacious Rebecca arrives, there is a fascination, almost obsessively. Eileen feels this woman could change her world. She starts becoming more confident, wearing make-up and dressing in her late mother’s clothes. Eileen is becoming the woman she isn’t allowed to be.

Both women become fascinated with one inmate at the prison for different reasons. This becomes a critical part of the story, but the film does not put it at the forefront. Events happen around this, but they seem only fleeting compared to the growing relationship of the two women. It turns its attention more on that subplot in the final section, and by that point, everything seems to be rushed, leading to almost a dead-end of a finale. After spending time with this story and the characters, it leaves the audience with so many unanswered questions that you practically demand a satisfying ending.

Based on an award-winning novel by Ottessa Moshfegh, who co-wrote the script, this has all the makings of a masterpiece, and for most of its running time, it is. Yet you feel utterly cheated. You need the audience to leave happy. With this film, they left deflated. That’s not what you want from a thriller. However, the music, a mix of classic needle-drops and a powerful score by Richard Reed Parry, works well.

The film has a strong cast, led by Thomasin McKenzie, so good in Last Night in Soho. Here, she has that wide-eyed innocence needed for the almost invisible lead character. She excels in showing the growth of a woman, even if her accent is a little questionable in places. She carries the film well. Shea Whigham, as her father, is solid, and you feel a mix of empathy and anger for him for treating Eileen the way he does but also knowing the hurt he is suffering. Yet it is Anne Hathaway’s Rebecca that scores highly. She is electric as this mysterious woman enters Eileen’s life and shows her a world she didn’t know existed. Hathaway is smooth, sensual and intriguing. It’s a quiet, scene-stealing performance and one of her best.

Eileen has everything going for it, and I would instantly recommend it had it not for that terrible ending. Knowing the quality of the work on show almost angers you that you have been let down so badly. A real pity. It was a four-star movie with a one-star finale.

3 out of 5

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wkMIv0xuzr8

Director: William Oldroyd

Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway, Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland, Sam Nivola, Siobhan Fallon Hogan, Owen Teague, Tonye Patano.

Written by: Luke Goebel and (based on the novel) Ottessa Moshfegh

Running Time: 97 mins

Cert: 15

Release date: 1st December 2023