A man's affair with his family's housemaid leads to a dark consequences. Eun-yi is hired as an au pair for Hae-ra (pregnant with twins) and her rich husband Hoon. Eun-yi's primary task is watching...
The Housemaid is a social commentary film turned up to 11. Whether it's the marbled, expansive house the rich family inhabit or the viciously passionate sex scenes, the Housemaid challenges social status head-on with an acidity which would make the richest of the rich sizzle with sickness.
Eun-yi, played by an equally innocent and sneaky Jeon Do-yeon, grabs the viewer's attention, making us question her morality. Sure, she is definitely objectified by the family but her greed overcomes her at times. However, in comparison to the rich family, lead by the charismatic yet controlling Hoon, Eun-yi is barely immoral. Their excess, lack of compassion for others, absence of parental control and ever-present seduction is conveyed as awful yet inherent. In Hae-ra's (Seo Woo) mother (Park Ji-young) we see a Lady Macbeth character, talking the naive Hae-ra into fits of malicious greed.
It is the acidic Byeong-sik (Yoon Yeo-jeong) who acts as the moral centre of the film. Weathered by many working-class years, Byeong-sik watches helplessly as each character plunges themselves into diaster.
Like a slithering serpent, The Housemaid injects venom in every corner of its story, giving the film a sting. A notable comparison may be Bong Joon-ho's Parasite which both feature similar acts of deceit in an expensive house, commenting on class divide. However, Bong Joon-ho's film is subtle and clean cut. The Housemaid is a whirligig of lies, which is never subtle but never wants to be. With an explosive ending that made me gasp several times, The Housemaid is a tornado of snakes that curls and whips towards its audience, leaving a scar where the venom has seeped in.
