Common Sense Media Review
By Tara McNamara
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Violent thriller has smoking, drinking, abuse references.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Eileen
What's the Story?
At 24, EILEEN's (Thomasin McKenzie) life isn't unlike the juvenile detention center where she works: It's routine, bleak, and disrespectful. Her unhappiness is compounded by caring for her difficult father (Shea Whigham), an alcoholic who's become increasingly more cruel and paranoid since Eileen's mother passed away. When blond bombshell Rebecca St. John (Anne Hathaway) joins the staff as the facility's child psychologist, she befriends Eileen. Eileen's life finally feels full of hope -- if she can overlook Rebecca's unconventional approach to solving a puzzling murder case.
Is It Any Good?
Despite mesmerizing performances from McKenzie, Hathaway, Marin Ireland, and Siobhan Fallon Hogan, their characters are led astray by the creative team. Novelist Ottessa Moshfegh adapted her own novel for the film with her writer husband Luke Goebel (Causeway), but some stories should be left on the page. What may work in a book -- where readers can use their imagination to visualize a story's more upsetting details in a way they can handle -- doesn't necessarily succeed in a filmed adaptation, which forces the writer and director's vision on viewers, whether they're ready for it or not.
Eileen has been brought to the screen in a way that abandons truth in the way it depicts its female characters, changing details to make their actions even more sordid, salacious, and insipid. Perhaps still on an adrenaline rush from his critically acclaimed debut, Lady Macbeth, director William Oldroyd seems to have felt that he had the goods to tell this story about complicated women, but Eileen proves differently. He, Moshfegh, and Goebel turn the story of a miserable 24-year-old woman who's desperate to be seen into a man's version of what that looks like, reinforcing the problems of trying to tell women's stories through the male gaze.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the elements of film noir. Does Eileen fit into that genre? Is Rebecca a femme fatale? Why, or why not?
Does Rebecca's drinking and smoking motivate Eileen to pick up those habits? How are we sometimes influenced by glamorous or popular people in real life? Do you think the movie made smoking and drinking look appealing?
Eileen follows her curiosity, which starts a chain of events that changes lives forever. Why do you think films often depict curiosity as leading to negative outcomes? How is curiosity a positive character strength?
How did the movie's violence make you feel? When it turned out to be imagined, did it make you feel better? What about descriptions of violent acts? Do you have to see violence to be upset or scared by it?
Discuss the relationship between Rebecca and Eileen. Are they heroes or villains? What is the history of queer characters in cinema being portrayed as villainous, and why is that problematic? Why is positive diverse representation important?
Movie Details
- In theaters : December 1, 2023
- On DVD or streaming : January 30, 2024
- Cast : Thomasin McKenzie , Anne Hathaway , Shea Whigham
- Director : William Oldroyd
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Writer(s)
- Studio : Neon
- Genre : Drama
- Topics : Book Characters
- Run time : 97 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : violent content, sexual content and language
- Last updated : September 18, 2025
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