After delivering Florence Pugh’s breakout role in Lady Macbeth, director William Oldroyd returned earlier to Sundance with an adaptation of Ottessa Moshfegh’s Eileen, which was picked up by NEON and set for a December 1 release. The first trailer has now arrived for the 1964-set story of a young secretary Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) who becomes enchanted by Rebecca (Anne Hathaway), the glamorous new counselor at the Massachusetts prison where she works.
As Jordan Raup said in his review, “In the cold, dreary outskirts of 1960s Boston, Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie) spends her days hoping for a better (or at least more sexually active) life, splitting her time working at a juvenile prison ward and caring for her ailing drunk of a father (Shea Whigham). When the elegant, mysterious Rebecca (Anne Hathaway) glides into her work as the new psychologist on staff, Eileen’s dull world is suddenly brought to life and an unspoken attraction sparks. Little does Eileen know the spark will lead to unimaginably dark consequences. Adapted by the novel’s author Ottessa Moshfegh, here working with Luke Goebel (Causeway), William Oldroyd’s Lady Macbeth follow-up Eileen is lacking in a considered formal approach but strives to make up for this misgiving with a script that offers its talented ensemble an unexpected mix of sensual longing and perverse thrills. While this clash of tones doesn’t entirely gel, part of its appeal is the shock of such contrasts.”
See the trailer and poster below:
Eileen opens on December 1.