THE HOUSEMAID (2009)

 

 

This is the recent remake of a 1960 Korean film of the same title (which is also playing at MIFF this year [read my review here]) and is directed by Im Sang-Soo.  I have already seen the original and am quite a fan of it, but I was still looking forward to this remake because Im Sang-Soo had made some changes to it (not least making it in colour as opposed to the original’s black and white), and the trailers I had seen for it, made it look pretty good.  

It is about a very rich family who hire a new housemaid to look after the kids and cook for them all.  The housemaid ends up having an affair with the husband (who initiates it, also a change from the original) and ultimately ends up pregnant.  The women of the house (the wife and her mother) try to abort the child, at any cost or any means possible (to try and avoid the embarrassment of the fact that her husband slept with someone so inferior).  

From this point on the film diverts from the original film’s storyline (which I’ll talk about in my review of that film) and becomes a commentary on class system, the way the upper class treat anyone they feel is inferior to themselves, and the way the rich get away with anything due to the funds at their disposal.  Personally, I much preferred the original film and the main problem has to do with the casting.  While Jeon Do-Yeon as the housemaid was great and Yun Yeo-Jung as the older housemaid was superb, the actors who played the upper-class family were all quite poor (it may be deliberate to highlight just how ridiculous the upper-class can be).  Both the husband and wife were so-so but the actress who played the wife’s mother was terrible.  She overacted beyond belief and was far too young to be believable as the wife’s mother.  

Overall, I enjoyed the film but with the number of flaws that it had in the acting, it wasn’t as powerful as the original.  Also the final scene of the film was just odd to say the least.

3 Stars - Viewed at the 2010 Melbourne International Film Festival