If you have read the book or, like me, listened to it as an audiobook, then you’re already familiar with this movie’s plotline. If you haven’t come across any books in this series (yes, it’s a series of interconnected books!!) then this is your first encounter with Millie Calloway. She is our enigmatic protagonist with all the grey shades resulting from her backstory and has all the good graces to charm potential employers, in addition to her honour-coded morals and a heart of gold.

So, it doesn’t take much for Andrew to fall in love with such an appealing woman with the damsel-in-distress vibe. He is Nina Winchester’s husband, who appoints Wilhelmina “Millie” Calloway as the stay-in housemaid for their sprawling mansion on Long Island, New York.

The movie starts with their first interaction, in which Nina assesses Millie as a potential employee during a semi-formal interview and then asks her to move into the Winchester mansion. This comes with a particular caveat that Millie must shift into a windowless attic room with a complicated locking system.

But that’s not the only weird thing in this house; soon Millie finds out about Nina’s unpredictable mood swings coupled with seething rage directed at her. Caught between Nina’s psychotic outbursts and the prospect of living in her car for the foreseeable future, Millie decides to grin and bear it as best she can.

Thankfully, Millie is helped by Andrew in his efforts to smooth things over between his wife and their housemaid. Eventually, his support moves into romantic territory, leading Nina to walk out of her family home. What follows, however, is absolutely unpredictable for viewers, finally pushing this complicated storyline to its penultimate climax.

Although readers of the Housemaid series might be aware of the ending, it still makes for an engaging viewing experience thanks to the acting and direction departments. As far as the screenplay goes, there are noticeable differences and tweaks from the original material. So, it keeps things edgy for fresh eyes while keeping it entertaining for the familiar ones. The production values and settings absolutely live up to the expected old money aesthetics. 

Where the movie and book diverge from one another, apart from the above-mentioned tweaks and certain changes in the storyline, is in its packaging as an erotic psychological thriller film. This might be the result of commercial decisions to cast one of America’s new blond sensations as Millie, which means there has to be enough visibility of her best angles along with her fantastic acting.

However, it’s not the main issue with this psychological thriller adaptation. It’s rather the treatment of the original storyline and how it unfolds on the screen. Freida McFadden has a dedicated fanbase who absolutely like her layered storytelling skills and narratives with nuanced details. Those seem to be lost in translation while adapting for the screen.

Having said that, it’s not a big showstopper for not checking this movie for a one-time watch.