Eileen ★★★½

ANNE Hathaway has a ball playing the femme fatale in the psychological noir thriller Eileen.

Based on a 2015 novel by Ottessa Moshfegh, the film takes place in 1960s Massachusetts.

Thomason McKenzie plays the main character, a young woman living and caring for her widowed, alcoholic father while working at a juvenile detention centre.

At work Eileen is a loner, either bullied or ignored by her co-workers and bosses. She secretly fantasises about one of the male guards but has no relationships other than the complex one with her father Jim (Shea Wigham), a former chief of police who now suffers from paranoia and regularly mentally abuses her. Eileen frequently dreams about killing herself and Jim.

Into her life comes the centre’s new psychologist, the glamorous and mysterious Rebecca Saint John, played by Hathaway. Rebecca is also shunned by other prison staff but, unlike Eileen, she has no problem with this.

As the relationship between the pair deepens, Eileen starts to think she may be able to have a better life, until a reveal that puts her in danger.

The film looks terrific and there is some great dialogue and of course the acting is first-rate. It’s a slow-burn but don’t let that deter you.

Watched on Foxtel.