“Eileen,” which debuted to mostly positive reviews at this year’s Sundance film festival, will arrive in theaters amid the year-end awards season rush. Neon has slated the 1960s-set queer melodrama, starring Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway, for a platform release in New York City and Los Angeles on Dec. 1 before going wide on Dec. 8.
Based on Ottessa Moshfegh’s novel of the same name, “Eileen” concerns a young secretary becoming enchanted by and then befriending, a glamorous new counselor at the prison where she works. Their friendship amid a harsh 1964 Massachusetts winter takes a twisted turn when Rebecca reveals a dark secret and sets Eileen on a sinister path.
“Eileen” is directed by William Oldroyd from a screenplay courtesy of Moshfegh and Luke Goebel. They both serve as producers alongside the director and Anthony Bregman, Stefanie Azpiazu and Peter Cron.
Alongside its top-billed stars, it features Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland and Owen Teague (who will soon headline the next “Planet of the Apes” movie alongside Freya Allen).
Steve Pond at TheWrap called it “a blackly humorous riff on film noir and a tour de force for its cast,” and the film’s commercial hopes arguably lie in the two-hander at its core. The picture currently has an 88% fresh and 7.4/10 on Rotten Tomatoes.
Hathaway’s 25-year career mostly speaks for itself, while McKenzie has quickly become a must-see talent since her breakout in Debra Granik’s “Leave No Trace” in 2017. Granik’s “Winter’s Bone” put Jennifer Lawrence on the map (and gave the future star her first Oscar nomination) in 2010, so maybe Granik should get more money to make more movies. Since the 2017 drama, McKenzie has starred in M. Night Shyamalan’s “Old,” Edgar Wright’s “Last Night In SoHo” and Taika Waititi’s “Jojo Rabbit” among other projects.
