Eileen
Neon | Release Date: December 1, 2023 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
72
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 44 Critic Reviews
Positive:
32
Mixed:
12
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
95
SlashfilmBen PearsonJan 24, 2023
Oldroyd lulled me into a false sense of expectation and then dropped a bomb into his movie that completely shifted the ground under my feet. I can't remember the last time I was so energized by a surprise. Read full review
91
IndieWireRyan LattanzioJan 24, 2023
Oldroyd is clearly a master assembler of styles, but he never lets his vision outshine the wonderful central performances at the movie’s core. Read full review
90
PolygonJoshua RiveraDec 7, 2023
In spite of its compactness and intimate focus, Oldroyd maintains enough ironic distance that the audience is never fully immersed in Eileen’s subjective viewpoint. In the way he lingers on details and nervous fidgets, the director invites the audience to speculate about what’s really going on with Eileen. Read full review
90
The New York TimesAlissa WilkinsonNov 30, 2023
Eileen is a mean movie, but I intend that as a compliment: There’s no lesson here, no revelation, no good vibes to wander away with. Spiky and cold, it’s a bitter holiday treat. Read full review
90
Film ThreatSabina Dana PlasseFeb 1, 2023
Offering beauty and strength in an oppressed and marginalized world, Eileen breaks the boundaries of perceived power. Read full review
90
Screen DailyAmber WilkinsonJan 24, 2023
Oldroyd attacks with a pace that makes his plot twists more shocking and shows an economy that harks back to the golden age of noir. Read full review
90
VarietyJessica KiangJan 24, 2023
The formal rigor that made Oldroyd’s “Lady Macbeth” such a striking debut is in evidence here throughout, but this time that directorial precision is applied to a narrative of bold, even garish ambition, which “Eileen” conceals, along with its unhinged heart, beneath a controlled, placid exterior. Read full review
90
The Hollywood ReporterDavid RooneyJan 24, 2023
Rippling with sly humor and a bold command of the tropes of classic Hitchcockian suspense, this is a twisty and beguiling original, led by contrasting but expertly synced performances from Thomasin McKenzie and Anne Hathaway. Read full review
88
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyDec 1, 2023
Thankfully, Eileen doesn't betray its source material by turning Eileen into something more palatable and sympathetic, but the film loses something in the transfer. Read full review
88
Slant MagazineNov 7, 2023
The film is a pulpy phantasmagoria of fear and desire, offering visions of queer ecstasy within the confines of multiple prisons. Read full review
88
New York PostJohnny OleksinskiJan 24, 2023
Director William Oldroyd’s mouthwatering drama, based on Ottessa Moshfegh’s acclaimed novel, misleads and misdirects all the way to the shocker ending. Read full review
85
TheWrapSteve PondJan 24, 2023
It’s both a tour de force for a cast led by Thomasin McKenzie and a sign that Oldroyd hasn’t lost his unsettling touch in the seven years since his last film. Read full review
83
The A.V. ClubMurtada ElfadlDec 1, 2023
Oldroyd has crafted a strange and mysterious thriller with Eileen. It’s not entirely satisfying, however it’s also never less than imaginatively conceived and utterly beguiling. Read full review
80
New York Magazine (Vulture)Alison WillmoreDec 8, 2023
Eileen may ultimately be a little thin, but it’s a bracing watch, powered not just by its two main performances but also by Ireland in that small but powerful role as a wretched enabler. Read full review
80
Arizona RepublicBill GoodykoontzDec 5, 2023
Eileen is indeed a weird little movie, but it leaves a big impact. Read full review
80
Rolling StoneDavid FearDec 4, 2023
What is certain is that Mossfegh’s exploration of secrets, lies and liberation plays well on the page, but works even better on the screen. Good luck in getting this movie out from under your skin. Read full review
80
The IndependentClarisse LoughreyDec 1, 2023
The thrill of Eileen lies in how McKenzie plays off the film’s inciting spark, a blonde-bobbed enigma played by Anne Hathaway. Read full review
80
Little White LiesKatherine McLaughlinNov 30, 2023
It is at times chilling, morally reprehensible and frightening, but it also proves to be liberating for the central character. Read full review
80
The Irish TimesDonald ClarkeNov 30, 2023
There is a lot here about how female sexual desire is repressed and sublimated. There is an implied, though not exactly hopeful, treatise on the promise of the later 1960s. Not every risk pays off. But all were worth taking. Read full review
80
Los Angeles TimesJustin ChangNov 30, 2023
Oldroyd and McKenzie keep us adroitly off-balance. Read full review
80
Rolling StoneK. Austin CollinsJan 25, 2023
Eileen wants us to notice how the psychological brick house it’s been building all along explains the outcome. But the outcome almost doesn’t matter. The real joy is in the hungers we tasted along the way. Read full review
80
Paste MagazineShayna Maci WarnerJan 24, 2023
The visceral thrills and quiet abominations of the journey are enjoyable, and worth the watch for Hathaway’s circling of McKenzie like a shark smelling preemptively spilt blood in the water; that is, until she realizes she’s a little more dangerous than her usual prey. Read full review
75
Original-CinLiz BraunDec 7, 2023
Eileen is a slender drama distinguished by strong performances. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRichard RoeperDec 7, 2023
The only reason I’m not giving Eileen a higher rating is because there are a couple of cheap and manipulative jump scare moments that only serve to take us out of the story and feel frustrated. Other than those hiccups, this is a first-rate period piece thriller with hauntingly memorable performances. Read full review
75
Boston GlobeOdie HendersonDec 7, 2023
Ultimately, I respected the dramatic destination at which the film arrived, but I kept asking myself if the trip was really necessary. Sometimes you admire a movie more than you like it. Read full review
75
ColliderRoss BonaimeFeb 3, 2023
Eileen is an intriguing little story that shifts and alters the further it goes, playing with the audience, and giving them the opposite of what they’re expecting. Eileen isn’t going to be everyone's cup of tea—especially those who think they know exactly what they're getting themselves into—but Eileen is an admirable bit of defiance that is a joy to live inside for 90 minutes. Read full review
70
Wall Street JournalZachary BarnesDec 1, 2023
The conclusion, grim and swift, makes the meaning of what preceded it wither slightly in the rear view, but there are some cinematic seductions along the way. Read full review
70
IGNMatt DonatoOct 8, 2023
Eileen is a nifty little shapeshifter of a thriller made of tremendous parts, just lacking a bit of steam upon exit. Read full review
70
We Got This CoveredMartin CarrJan 25, 2023
Director William Oldroyd offers up a 50s potboiler in 'Eileen,' which is held together by an elegant Anne Hathaway and downtrodden Shea Whigham. Steeped in period perfection but hampered by an off-kilter final third, this might not be for everyone. Read full review
67
Austin ChronicleAlejandra MartinezNov 29, 2023
Overall, Eileen is a pretty close adaptation of the mood of Moshfegh’s stories, even though some lost elements dull the author’s unique and singular voice. If the script meanders its way toward its unsettling end, it still manages to stay compelling. Read full review
67
The PlaylistTomris LafflyJan 24, 2023
Eileen leaves one wondering whether there was supposed to be an additional 20 minutes to the movie somewhere that someone accidentally deleted. Read full review
63
Washington PostMichael O'SullivanDec 5, 2023
A film that is by turns darkly comic and disturbing, both sensations brought into vivid, caustic relief by the film's mesmerizing star. Read full review
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