William Oldroyd’s Eileen, adapted from the Otessa Moshfegh novel of the same name, is a film that explores identity and violence.

The film follows Eileen (Thomasin McKenzie), a young woman who spends a lot of her time daydreaming about sexual encounters. However, her life isn’t like her fantasies, as she works at a local youth prison and lives with her alcoholic father (Shea Whigham) who constantly berates her. Her mundane life finally finds some spark with the arrival of a new prison psychologist named Dr. Rebecca Saint John (Anne Hathaway).

Eileen is instantly enamored with Rebecca, quickly picking up some of the psychologist’s habits, such as smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee. The two become quite close, teetering into the romantic side of a friendship. Both Eileen and Rebecca have their secrets, however, and this boils over into irreparable consequences.

Eileen is a slow film that shifts tones quite frequently throughout, however, this works well as a whole. The acting in the film is phenomenal with tons of chemistry between McKenzie and Hathaway. Their relationship really had me thinking this would be much more romantic, so it definitely added to the dark turns of the film. Marin Ireland proves once again how great of an actress she is, stealing the show in the third act.

Like I mentioned before, I thought this film would play out in a whole different manner. Through the use of Eileen’s daydreams and sense of longing, we see a slow shift of her character. Although the signs are always there, it comes as a complete surprise. It really succeeds in diverting audience’s attention until the final reveal.

We give Eileen a 4/5.

Eileen will begin a limited theatrical release in the United States on December 1 before expanding December 8.