"You lost this staring contest before you even started."
What a phenomenal character study. Racquel, a Chilean maid of a well-to-do family begins to lose her $hit on her 41st birthday. Serving her family loyally for over 20 years, she knows little beyond bleached bathtubs and doubtful affection for the children she tends to. The pristine white walls of the home she works and lives in acts like that of a looney bin and she's locked in, and doesn't know real feeling for others. So, she stops listening to everyone. Is insistent and rule-embracing about cleanliness, and locks out all new maids that try to but in on her work.
But is this domestic thriller? Excellent kitchen sink drama? Dark comedy in suburbia? A call to clean your house and care for others? Well, it's all of that, really.
I smell Oscar. Now pour some bleach on him.: Chilean actress Catalina Saavedra is a sensation as the eponymous and surrealy suburban Racquel. She's a long, but well-deserved shot at Best Actress. It's like watching the ultimate in believably domestic distress and Saavedra seems all too familiar and believable in the role. She's perfectly, tragically nuanced and yet she merits change that makes you want to keep with her. And as a bonus, fellow Chilean actress Mariana Loyola injects life as Racquel's new salvation and competing maid Lucy. She brings the heart.
Find and see "The Maid," and don't bring your cat...
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