A woman’s friendship with a new co-worker at the prison facility where she works takes a sinister turn.

Directed by William Oldroyd, ‘Eileen’ is a psychological thriller about the parasitic relationship that develops between two women who work at a juvenile detention facility in 1960s Massachusetts. It is Oldroyd’s first film since the excellent ‘Lady Macbeth’, which was Florence Pugh’s first major role, and it’s a shame it’s taken him 7 years to make another film. His choice is another female focused movie, this time based on the 2015 novel of the same name by Ottessa Moshfegh, with Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway in the leading roles.

The story is primarily focused on Eileen Dunlop, played by McKenzie, a lonely young woman who doesn’t get on with her colleagues and has to deal with her alcoholic father (Shea Whigham) at home. She regularly fantasises about killing her father and committing suicide herself, depicted in ways that managed to give me (and others in the audience!) quite a fright. Her dreary life is improved somewhat by the arrival of a new psychologist at the prison, Rebecca (Hathaway), who is everything Eileen is not – blonde, glamourous and confident, and it surprises Eileen when she finds herself developing a friendship with her, and perhaps even more.

The slow burn narrative develops the friendship/relationship between Eileen and Rebecca while always hinting that something isn’t quite right, leaving the audience waiting on edge for the penny to drop. When it does, it is tense and dark, but I did find it a little underwhelming, even as I felt the performances from McKenzie and Hathaway were both good. ‘Eileen’ is a messy psychological thriller with strong lead performances, but I felt it was lacking that something extra to elevate it.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: William Oldroyd

Starring: Thomasin McKenzie, Anne Hathaway and Shea Whigham

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5198890/