Critics’ reviews

Eileen (2023)

27 reviews from 27 publications. Critics’ score 73: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 2 negative.

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73
Positive
13
Mixed
0
Negative
2
Variety
22 January 2023 · Critics Pick · Jessica Kiang
85*

The critic hails the deliciously deranged, genre-devouring portrait of perversity with career-high performances from Hathaway and McKenzie. It singles out the formal precision and blackly comedic power shifts that make the twisted psychodrama exhilarating.

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The AV Club
29 November 2023 · B+ · Murtada Elfadl
83

The critic finds it a stylish wild ride and enthralling adaptation that keeps tension lively with committed performances, though not entirely satisfying. It is imaginatively conceived and beguiling with subtle beats.

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Evening Standard
30 November 2023 · Nick Howells
80*

The critic finds the film an erotic neo-noir about desire and liberation in which the protagonist's repressed urges are unleashed by a glamorous newcomer. McKenzie's performance is singled out as the standout for its depth and intoxication.

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Little White Lies
30 November 2023 · 4/4/4 · Katherine McLaughlin
80

The review commends the dark humour from the novel being well translated and the strong chemistry between the leads. It singles out the atmospheric 1960s setting with its disorientating festive colours and the film's exploration of repression and yearning.

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Los Angeles Times
30 November 2023 · Justin Chang
80*

The critic praises the sleek, unnerving adaptation and especially Anne Hathaway's mesmerizing turn as the glamorous catalyst. It singles out the film's willingness to leave the protagonist's inner life partly ambiguous while delivering shocking reveals.

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Radio Times
★★★★ · Patrick Cremona
80

The critic calls it a bleak but alluring noir thriller whose script translates the novel's feel impeccably. They single out the richly atmospheric mood created through period stylings and score, plus the ingenious third-act twist.

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The i Paper
30 November 2023 · Christina Newland
75*

The adaptation is praised as a psychosexual thriller with visual restraint and period accuracy that explores feminine obsession and madness. Oldroyd is highlighted as a talented director whose work here is twisty, unpredictable and absorbing.

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Vulture
8 December 2023
70*

The critic describes a slender but engaging feature that is as much drama as thriller, with Oldroyd coaxing strong performances; it is a bracing watch powered by the leads and a standout supporting turn, though ultimately a little thin.

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Empire
1 December 2023 · Yasmin Omar
35*

The film is dismissed as a workaday neo-noir that starts with intriguing character dynamics but veers into unsatisfying conventional thriller territory. Hathaway is noted for brightening the proceedings, but the overall verdict calls it a limp genre exercise that prioritises B-movie thrills over nuance.

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Slant Magazine
6 November 2023 · ★/4
25

The critic sees it as a deliciously teasing queer noir that heats up alluringly with misdirected erotic energies, becoming a pulpy phantasmagoria of fear and desire offering visions of queer ecstasy within prisons.

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Film Comment
6 February 2023 · festival review

The film makes its protagonist unknowable rather than unlikable, swirling a deliciously pulpy story around her with thrilling dark surprises. It adapts the book's flat narration into an ambient fury of sound and image, swerving from a Carol-esque desire story into seedy vengeance.

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IndieWire
22 January 2023 · festival review · Ryan Lattanzio

The critic hails it as a darkly romantic adaptation that already feels close to iconic, with career-best turns from Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie in a perverse folie à deux.

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Screen Daily
22 January 2023 · festival review

The review praises the lean, well-oiled noir tale of obsession that confirms the director's talent, with strong visual storytelling, 1960s evocation, taut plotting and central performances. It singles out the psychological thriller beats delivered with dark humour and style.

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Sight and Sound
24 November 2023

The critic highlights the film's sickly, nicotine-yellow visual palette and its portrayal of a young woman's infatuation that shifts into violent thriller territory. They single out the textured contrast between glamour and grime, along with the lead performances.

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The Guardian
29 November 2023 · Peter Bradshaw

The film is a peculiar misfire of a psycho-noir with solemn intensity and vehement performances from Hathaway and McKenzie, but it feels like an unsatisfying and anticlimactic oddity.

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The Hollywood Reporter
22 January 2023 · festival review · David Rooney

The critic calls it a strange and spellbinding psychological thriller with sly humor and a bold command of Hitchcockian suspense tropes. Performances by Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway are expertly synced and bracing.

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The New York Times
30 November 2023 · Critic's Pick · Alissa Wilkinson

The critic finds the adaptation delivers cathartic nastiness through its cold New England Christmas setting and the central relationship. It singles out the lead performances for bringing tension and unexpected liberation to the thriller.

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The Telegraph
30 November 2023

The handsome modern noir centres on an affair but lacks sexual tension and doesn't quite fly, though McKenzie holds it together and there are memorable images.

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The Times
1 December 2023 · ★★☆☆☆ · Kevin Maher

This is a deranged mish-mash and disappointing follow-up from Oldroyd, a confusing letdown with a ridiculous kidnap and torture plot.

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/Film
22 January 2023 · 9.5/10 · Ben Pearson
95

The critic hails the film as a stylish, sexy, and disturbing stunner with extraordinary performances from Anne Hathaway and Thomasin McKenzie, praising its audacious twist and how it subverts expectations after a familiar setup.

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The Wrap
22 January 2023 · festival review · Steve Pond
85*

The critic calls the film one of the boldest provocations at Sundance, a blackly humorous riff on film noir and a tour de force for its cast. She singles out McKenzie’s precise calibration of the title character’s rich, weird depths and the bold moments given to the leads in the homestretch.

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Deadline
22 January 2023 · festival review · Valerie Complex
80*

The critic finds the film an unsettling noir worth the wait as female loneliness and rage collide. She singles out the masterful lead performances, especially McKenzie’s switch from mousy to maniacal and Hathaway’s smoldering, flirtatious turn.

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Polygon
7 December 2023 · joshua-rivera
80*

The critic describes it as a daring thriller that plays a guessing game with the audience through small twitches and passions, highlighting strong direction, performances, and ironic distance that invites speculation.

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The Playlist
22 January 2023 · B- · Tomris Laffly
70

The review finds the film visually lush with terrific lead performances but criticizes its thin script and rushed pacing that undercuts the central relationship and leaves the story feeling underdeveloped despite a strong premise.

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Collider
31 January 2023 · festival review · Ross Bonaime

The critic praises the film's defiance of expectations through its sharp tonal shifts and strong performances, especially the chemistry between McKenzie and Hathaway, while noting the bare-bones story and abrupt ending.

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Film Stories
3 October 2023 · James Harvey

The critic praises the atmospheric neo-noir thriller and strong performances from Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway, noting its stylish visuals, score, and compelling mix of romance and tension, though the ending arrives abruptly.

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Paste
29 November 2023 · 8.0 · Shayna Maci Warner

The critic calls it a truly nasty piece of queer work with visceral thrills, strong performances from Hathaway and McKenzie, and off-kilter sexy moments, but notes the twist leads to an atmospheric yet unsatisfactory close.

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Ordered by the weight we give each publication, then by score. Scores are normalised to 100; * means inferred from an unrated review. Summaries are ours, not quotations; follow the links for the reviews themselves. How we rate