if you find the ending histrionic or excessively and annoyingly melodramatic, it means you have been thinking in a hollywood formulaic manner. it's wonderful to appreciate as a whole, a show-don't-tell movie, has a wonderful soundtrack, and it's sexy. but at the back of my head, i ask, is this an anti-abortion, anti-classist propaganda? maybe not.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. PLEASE DO NOT READ THIS IF YOU INTEND TO SEE THE FILM; I HAVE REFERENCED THE ENDING. The Housemaid is a sexy, gripping, can't wait to see what happens film. No gratuitous sex or nudity just a story that may seem common but with a shocking ending and a quirky lead character. As usual with foreign films my not knowing the culture precludes me understanding the sense of how the action and relationships make the characters do or not do something. When they speak, at times there is no translation. Am I missing some banter? Perhaps it is part of a previous or upcoming translation, yet somehow I feel I am missing the nuance. If not for this flaw, I would rate this film a straight A (instead of an A-). Excellent acting, perfectly staged and shot. A minor issue is the relationship of the lead and friend (?) in the opening sequence and again later in the film. A metaphor on the opening suicide? Relation to the end? Strong believable, if a little melodramatic, but stirring. Well worth seeing.… Expand