Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried play characters that oscillate between the roles of victim and perpetrator in ‘The Housemaid,’ a thriller that takes an unusual approach to domestic violence: “It was very cathartic to lose my mind,” Seyfried said in an interview with EFE.
The Paul Feig-directed film opens in theaters this Friday and follows the arrival of Millie Calloway (Sweeney), a young woman with serious financial problems, at the mysterious and wealthy Winchester family home, where she is hired by Nina (Seyfried) as a live-in maid.
With no other belongings than a backpack with clothes and an old car, Millie settles in the highest room of the residence, which has no ventilation or key, a peculiarity that creates a strange feeling of mistrust from the beginning.
“What’s fascinating and fun about these characters and their relationship is that you think they’re complete, it seems like everything is perfect on the outside. But when you peel back layers, you discover something completely different. It’s a lot of fun to play characters who are not what they seem,” Sweeney told EFE.
The film, based on the book of the same name by Freida McFadden, falls into the psychological thriller genre, with elements of black comedy and romantic tensions running through the story also starring Brandon Sklenar as Andrew Winchester, the perfect husband.
The relationship between Millie and Nina is built on a shifting power dynamic, where manipulation and domestic violence not only traverse the marital bond, but are also projected onto the worker, trapped in a structure of control in which Andrew ambiguously and seductively participates.
Playing Nina led Seyfried to explore an intense emotional spectrum, bringing to life a seemingly unstable woman marked by hatred, envy and jealousy.
For the actress, it was fundamental to understand that revenge guided her character: “Not as a passing emotion, but as an impulse that pushes her to tear others down in an ugly but necessary way, a force that reflects the moral complexity of the character,” she said.
At times, Amanda Seyfried goes berserk on screen as a terrified Sydney Sweeney watches the woman lose control and in fits of rage, with no choice but to endure the situation due to her precarious position and dark past.
“It was very addictive to play a character like this,” explained the ‘Mamma Mia!’ actress.
“It was really cool to watch her delve deeper and deeper into the madness, and I couldn’t laugh,” Sweeney said, confessing that it was difficult to maintain his composure during the filming of the movie.
For the ‘Christy’ actress, one of the biggest challenges in playing Nina was taking on the role of ‘the eyes of the audience’, a challenge that forced her not to get ahead of herself in a story full of plot twists.
This challenge is complemented by the need for empathy, which the actress considers fundamental when it comes to bringing any role to life: “You have to be very empathetic with your characters,” she said. “You can disagree with their decisions, you can question them, but you always have to understand them.”
Throughout the film, both Nina and Millie switch roles as victim and victimizer, surprising the audience with several unexpected twists that even open the door to a sequel.
“I’m a big fan of the books and I think if people really want to see more, I’d love to,” Sweeney commented on a possible expansion of the story.
The film also moves away from the clichés about female relationships, both friendship and rivalry, by presenting a situation full of nuances and showing how abuse does not always respond to obvious patterns.
“I think it’s not really about revenge, I think all the characters are in survival mode,” said Sweeney, reported Agencia EFE.
Here you can see the trailer of ‘The Housemaid’.
Find out more at ‘QueOnnda.com’.
