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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Eileen (2023)
27 reviews from 27 publications. Critics’ score 73: 13 positive, 0 mixed, 2 negative.
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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full 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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full 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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →This is a deranged mish-mash and disappointing follow-up from Oldroyd, a confusing letdown with a ridiculous kidnap and torture plot.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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.
Read the full review →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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