The Housemaid

What’s it about?

A young woman on parole lies her way into a housemaid position for a wealthy family. Soon after starting the job, she is subjected to cruelty and manipulation by the family.

The facts

• Directed by Paul Feig (A Simple Favor)
• English language
• Runtime: 131 minutes
• Starring Amanda Seyfried, Sydney Sweeney, Brandon Sklenar
• Adaptation of the novel by Freida McFadden

Why did it get this rating?

This film was classified by Te Mana Whakaatu, Classification Office. You can find out more about classification process and ratings here.

Domestic violence

Controlling and violent relationships are a main theme of the story. The strongest examples include:

• A man locks women in a room and instructs them to self-harm.
• A woman has bruising on her wrist and describes her husband as a ‘hard man’.
• A man frames his wife for a violent crime and has her committed to a psychiatric ward. She cannot leave until she admits to the crime.
• A woman is put on unnecessary medication and rumours are spread about her mental health.
• A man targets isolated, vulnerable women because they are easier to control.

Self-harm

There are some scenes of people being made to harm themselves while being held captive. While they are not intentional acts of self-harm, some of the graphic detail is likely to disturb people affected by self-harm. Examples include:

• A character cutting their stomach repeatedly with a broken piece of porcelain. The cuts are deep and we see them in closeup.
• A character is shown using a pair of pliers to pull out a tooth.
• An attempted suicide is discussed but later revealed as an attempt to escape domestic violence.

Sex scenes 

There are several sex scenes in the film, one is particularly passionate and extended. Breast and buttock nudity is shown, but body positioning and camera angles prevent us from seeing more explicit detail.

Sexual violence

In a flashback sequence we briefly see a clothed man on top of a distressed and struggling woman, raping her against her will (he is covering her mouth so no one can hear her protests). The moment is brief and followed by a shocking violent attack against the rapist.

Other sexual violence includes:

• A man touching a woman from behind, she is clearly uncomfortable
• A sex scene shown from above looking down on a woman staring black faced up at the ceiling while a man actively moves on top of her. She does not actively engage in the sex but allows it to happen due to the controlling nature of the relationship.

Violence

Most acts of violence in the film are in a domestic setting or as a response to sexual violence. The strongest scenes include:

• A character hits a person over the head repeatedly with a glass object until they die. We see blood spurts and splatter over the attacker and the glass object.
• A character pushes another off a spiral staircase. They are shown hitting their head multiple times as they fall. A large pool of blood grows under their body after they hit the ground.

Cruelty

The story line involves cruel scenes of characters holding other people against their will. Part of the tension and emotional journey of the film portrays characters being held against their will and trying to escape, suffering physically and mentally in the process.

A housemaid is manipulated and gaslit by her employer, being punished for things she didn’t do or for tasks that she was instructed to do but is then blamed for.

Offensive language

Most of the strong language in the film is used casually or as emphasis to a dramatic situation. Strongest words include ‘c*nt’, ‘b*tch’, ‘motherf*cker’, ‘f*ck’ and ‘sh*t’.

Youth Advisory Panel comments

A member of our Youth Advisory Panel attended the classification screening. They felt the strongest scenes were the character falling down the stairs, and the character being made to cut their own stomach. They believed that the self-harm content would be triggering for some people. They felt that the manipulation and cruelty were strong, and that the sex scenes were strong and that they included everything except penetration.

Helplines:

The domestic violence, sexual violence and self-harm content could be upsetting for some viewers, especially for those who have gone through similar experiences. If you are struggling with what you have seen on-screen please reach out for help. If you or someone you know needs to talk:

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• When trauma is involved there are no spoilers (blog)