Home | Movies By Year | Movies from 2009
The Maid (2009 film)
Buy The Maid (2009 film) now from AmazonFirst, read the Wikipedia article. Then, scroll down to see what other TopShelfReviews readers thought about the movie. And once you've experienced the movie, tell everyone what you thought about it.
Wikipedia article
'The Maid' is a 2009 comedy-drama film, directed by Sebastin Silva and co-written by Silva and Pedro Peirano. It has won numerous awards since its premiere at the 25th Annual Sundance Film Festival. The film has had much critical acclaim, particularly for Catalina Saavedra's award-winning performance as the lead character.
Plot synopsis
Raquel (Saavedra) has served as the maid for the Valdes family for over 23 years. She treats her employers, Pilar (Celedn) and Edmundo (Goic) with the utmost loyalty and respect. She gets along well with their teenage son, Lucas (Agustn Silva) but clashes with their headstrong daughter, Camila (Garca-Huidobro). When Raquel begins to suffer dizzy spells, due to an excessive use of chlorine for household cleaning, Pilar decides to hire additional maids to assist Raquel in her daily chores. The fiercely territorial Raquel resents this and engages in a series of increasingly desperate attempts to drive away maid after maid, including the younger Lucy (Loyola), in order to maintain her position in the household.
Cast
* Catalina Saavedra as Raquel
* Claudia Celedn as Pilar
* Alejandro Goic as Edmundo
* Mariana Loyola as Lucy
* Agustn Silva as Lucas
* Andrea Garca-Huidobro as Camila
* Anita Reeves as Sonia
* Delfina Guzmn as The Grandmother
* Luis Dub como 'Eric'
* Gloria Canales as 'Lucy's mom'
* Luis Wigdorsky as 'Lucy's dad'
Reception
Critical reception
Critics have responded very positively to the film. On Rotten Tomatoes the film has a 93% approval rating, based on 75 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Catalina Saavedra's devastating performance would be reason enough to see 'The Maid' but Sebastian Silva's empathetic direction and finely tuned script only add to the movie's pleasing heft." On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".Film critic David Parkinson called it "an exceptional study of the emotional investment that domestics make in the families they serve. Saavedra is mesmerizing as she shifts from subservient to scheming."Radio Times, 29 September-5 October 2012, p.42 'Chicago Sun Times' film critic Roger Ebert described the film as a "unpredictable, naturalistic gem."
Accolades
According to the National Board of Review, 'The Maid' was one of 2009's five best Best Foreign-Language Films; also, it was nominated for the 67th Annual Golden Globe Awards consideration honoring 2009 achievements for the same category, and "AyAyAyAy" (the film's main theme song) was one of the 63 songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures contending for nominations in the Original Song category for the 82nd Academy Awards.Despite the film's great success, the film was not chosen as Chile's submission to the 82nd Academy Awards. Instead, Miguel Littin's 'Dawson Isla 10' was sent, but the film didn't make the short-list.
References
Buy The Maid (2009 film) now from Amazon
<-- Return to movies from 2009