No one likes to be replaced. Even when it gets difficult, hardwork and years put in effort to take and keep these roles makes it feel precious, and that’s exactly how househelp Raquel feels in The Maid. It’s a funny domestic comedy, with a scowling Catalina Saavedra ready to protect the role she’s held onto for years, but Saavedra and writer-director Sebastián Silva crafts an empathetic, realistic character study of a woman so worn down from poverty, power imbalance, and having had no breaks that the rare instance of compassion feels like a threat. La Nana doesn’t quite critique the entire system that keeps Raquel in her role, but it’s a rare film that acknowledges the importance of rest and empathy in order to feel human.
"An extremely sharp portrayal of a complex family and individual dynamic."
— Laurence Boyce
Raquel has been the live-in housekeeper for a kind, reasonably wealthy family for half her life, and the joyless repetition of the job has begun to take its toll. Increasingly dependent on painkillers, Raquel resorts to pranks and childish avoidance to antagonize the family’s college-age daughter and a procession of new servants, all in the hopes of protecting her precarious power within the home. Her antics successfully push everyone away, until new maid Lucy actually pushes back.
After serving as the live-in maid for the Valdes family for over two decades, Raquel starts to suffer from dizzy spells from being overexposed to cleaning chemicals. Because of this, Mrs. Valdes hires additional help, but Raquel launches an all-out assault on each new employee that dares to take her hard-earned place.
Catalina Saavedra!
Remember today to take a break, if you can.
Cannes
1 nomination
"The Maid is a film that defies expectations; expect to feel ashamed of yourself."
— Laura Kern