2009, Chile/Mexico
Drama
Read the review in The Desert Sun. Extended version:
Sometimes a maid does not just cook and clean, she cares for the family at every level, learning their secrets and watching them grow. In The Maid, Raquel has been living with her family for over 20 years, and she holds a tight grip on the household. She has her rules, she has her favorites, and no one is going to change that.
Chilean filmmaker Sebastián Silva directs his second film and has garnered many awards in the process, including the Sundance Film Festival's Grand and Special Jury Prizes in the Dramatic World Cinema category. His film finds a delicate balance in portraying the familiarity of Raquel and her working family, and yet there are evident boundaries drawn between the two -- ironically and unintentionally created by Raquel herself.
Catalina Saavedra takes on the titular role as the stubborn woman convinced she can maintain her obsessive control over the home despite failing health -- caused by her fanatical behavior. When the mother of the family suggests that they get Raquel an assistant, she takes great offense at the prospect. For every woman brought in to help, Raquel doubles her efforts at aggravating them to the point of no return, even disinfecting any speck of evidence that they were there. At one moment she tries on the son's gorilla mask, making all the more blatant that she has become the 800 pound gorilla of the house.
There are hints at dark humor, but overall the film provides dramatic glimpses of a past that was not kind to Raquel. Her attempts at juggling a perfect household reflect against an unknown upbringing and distant family, the memory of which leaves her fragile and powerless. However, convinced that she has proven to her working family her worthiness through her elbow grease, she cannot afford to have anyone else destroy what is her impression of love.
Her territoriality is childish, as she both literally and figuratively locks out her competition. The family is kind and maintains the loyalty that binds them to the woman who helped raise four children from the day they were born. She acts more like one of the kids, playing unexplainable favorites among family members, and yet she is trusted with every aspect of their homelife. The relationship is tricky, as she tries on their nerves but is bound by years of dedication.
Silva is careful not to reveal too much of Raquel's history in The Maid. Her life is as much a mystery to the audience as it is to this mythical family. Her bandages are only gently pulled back by a woman who is finally able to see her pain through the hatred, and allows Raquel some relief from her constant guard dog stance. As she is able to be viewed as more human and less worker bee, it becomes obvious that her title as maid is just that, and that a complex woman stands beneath the uniform.