Anyone who has ever watched the iconic Brady Bunch remembers the familial relationship that Alice had with The Bunch. She was constantly in the middle of their shenanigans, creating situational comedy that was campy and fun. The Maid presents a grown-up spin on that tale. Raquel (Catalina Saavedra) has been a maid for "her" family for decades. She has fallen into a routine that is robbing her of her own freedom. Her relationships exist in a gray area that makes her not quite family and not entirely the hired help. Her spitefulness shows in her passive aggressive tactics that we first witness in her interaction with the oldest daughter Camila (Andrea Garcia-Huidobro).
The matriarch of the family is Pilar (Claudia Celedon). Pilar has an obvious soft spot for Raquel. She ends up refereeing the constant squabbles between Raquel and Camila. It seems that Pilar is equally concerned with the tense situation between the two as well as Raquel's health, which appears to be taking a turn for the worse. In order to alleviate the situation, Pilar starts hiring maids to assist Raquel. Rather than welcoming some additional help, Raquel feels threatened. It seems that she is not so much worried about losing her job as losing her position within the family. The changes bring out the worst in Raquel, who terrorizes each of the maids that are brought in to help her. That is, until Lucy (Mariana Loyola) arrives. Lucy and Raquel find a unique bond that allows the audience to see another side of the lead character. This bond also provides an opportunity for Raquel to create her own space.
The Maid was written and directed by Sebastian Silva. This was just his second film in these pivotal roles. Silva does a good job of creating a natural feel in the film. The characters seem real, the dialogue flows naturally and the humorous aspects are witty. I also enjoyed some parallels I found in the movie (either intentional or unintentional). Raquel's health problems appear to derive from breathing strong cleaning agents in the confined space of the bathroom. But her problems are more deeply rooted in the fact that she hasn't created her own "breathing room" in the way she lives her life. The story evolves carefully, not so much with a plot as with an examination of the characters and interaction. The concept was interesting and sometime funny, but there were some tedious stretches where the pacing seemed off.
Saavedra seemed to handle her leading role with authority. The character required quirkiness, which Saavedra infused into the part without losing her connection to reality. We get to see another side to this character, which allows Saavedra to demonstrate her ability to create a multi-faceted believable character. Her performance in the lead role was excellent. Her interaction with Garcia-Huidobro was especially interesting. The two had a nice chemistry that allowed their relationship to seem strained yet close. I enjoyed Garcia-Huidobro. In keeping with my Brady Bunch comparison, Celedon had this odd Carol Brady quality that made her seem a bit soft but ultimately the glue that holds the family together. Loyola brought a fun vibrancy to her role which she appeared to thoroughly enjoy. Her chemistry with Saavedra was also apparent. Overall, this film was well cast.
The version of The Maid that I watched did not have a rating. If it did, it would likely be R. There is a scene where the father walks out of the bathroom with no clothes on. This scene included full frontal male nudity. There was a sex scene where the sex was not shown, but leading up to the scene the male character removes his clothes with his back to the camera. Aside from the male nudity, I think just about every maid showed her breasts. The nudity was tasteful and mostly contextual. Aside from the nudity and an adult situation, there wasn't much else to consider. The language was tame, no violence and no drug use. Because of the nudity, I would suggest an audience at least in the mid-teens.
The Maid wasn't perfect. It was a character study. Some of the characters were better than others, but it was a mixed bag. The character development seemed concentrated on the lead character and Camila, who both showed some complexity. The mother was very one-dimensional for me as were several of the other characters. Because this was more about the maid finding herself than an actual plot, the character development was essential to the story. It was good enough for a recommendation but not outstanding. The pacing also seemed sluggish enough to risk losing me at times. Raquel started to get tiresome at times. I enjoyed The Maid for its originality, light comedy and decent dramatic elements. The pacing and character development hurt this film leading me to recommend it. 7/10.
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