The Maid's Room (2014)

"Sorry, Mr. Crawford, but everybody is equal under the eyes of god. Under the eyes of god, maybe, but not mine."I wasn't really excited about this simple story. It rather seems like an adaptation of some light hearted crime novelette you can buy in any newsstand. A sort of "Der Alte"-story, set in modern times and supported by a soundtrack that reminded me at times of "Twin Peaks". But the story on it's own is meager and certain interpretations aren't really impressive. It's first and foremost highly predictable and again it's an indictment against the gap between the wealthy and the less fortunate ones. The apparent invulnerability of certain individuals is the common thread running through the whole story. Besides the short playing time there isn't much positives to say about it.Drina (Paula Garcés), a beautiful girl from Colombia, has emigrated to the US to work for the Crawford family, a very wealthy family (all the clichés are used again to portray this). The master of the house Mr. Crawford (Bill Camp) is a typical businessman making lots of money probably. First of you're wondering what the hell he really does for a living, since the way he expresses himself isn't that impressive. He looks rather uncertain when explaining things, without determination and timid when it comes to making decisions. Mrs.Crawford (Annabella Sciorra) is the exuberant wife who's undoubtedly the one who spends the most money and as a tradition it looks as if she has a drinking problem. Brandon (Philip Ettinger) plays the spoiled son who's strolling through the house and lives there as a king. He is a typical teenager who has things going for him just because of his origin (if it wasn't for his father he'd never be able to get into Princeton). Finally, Drina is modesty itself. The only living space where she can stay in her spare time is her tiny little bedroom along the garage. The rest of the house is solely work area for her. And despite the friendly tone used by Mrs. Crawford, you still can feel her haughty attitude.One night Brandon returns home drunk, pukes in the garage and stumbles back in his bed. The next morning Drina discovers that the car is damaged seriously and there are also signs of blood being wiped off. At least there was an attempt to do that. Brandon minimizes this incident and brings up an explanation that he hit a deer. Until Drina finds an article in Brandon's room about a fatal traffic accident with a hit and run. And after that the whole story derails. You would expect the story focusing on the crime being unraveled. However, it becomes an ethical issue of bribery and justice, with all its consequences. It ends up with a where-do-we-hide-the-body soap as you would expect in "How to get away with murder?".And not only the story wasn't very special. The performances also were sometimes toe-curling bad. Especially the performances of Mr. And Mrs. Crawford were too sad for words. The opening scene in the office of Mr. Crawford with a dialogue between these two characters about whether or not to hire Drina as the main topic, almost made me decide to turn off the television. Mainly Drina and Brandon acted still acceptable. Drina by her youthful innocence and probably mostly by her natural beauty and sensual appearance (despite the attempt to give her a more chaste appearance by giving here a traditional hairstyle). You could clearly hear her South American accent when she spoke, but it had the wrong effect on me. Instead of sounding pitiful, it sounded incredible sensual. Brandon did his best not to get too dignified. Despite his stable situation as the son of rich folks, he sometimes acted as an insecure teen boy.Ultimately you can compare "The Maid's Room" with a pulp novelette, you grab from a kiosk and while sitting somewhere waiting for something, you glance through it just to pass the time. How appropriate. It only serves as a means to kill time (no pun intended).More reviews here : http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be

This movie is not agonizing in the way the bigger part of modern USA horror is agonizing: there are no priest vs. demons vs. supernatural feels vs. very sweet children in a middle-class context. This immediately lifts this movie out of the realm of mediocrity, and sets it apart from all the Insidious-like crap that's floating around the JW player jungle. A good thing was the moral ambiguity in the son's character, as well as the lead actress'"maid".However, it's not really a scary movie for anybody older than 12. This shouldn't even be considered a horror film, imho. I liked the story, but found the execution somewhat flawed in that the main characters (other than the maid + son) could never really convince in their authenticity. Also, the sound-design/music is typical meh & Hollywood-esque (no creative montage, no purist electronic usage, sub-par interaction of visuals and audio etc). The tempo is kinda slow, but not too slow; the story is not very original, but original enough.All in all a so-so one-time watch, but nothing more.

This is my first review because I saw other reviews unfairly bash this title. This movie breathes classic filmography, with haunting sound sequences, intriguing art direction, good story pace, and excellent dramatic acting by indie actors. The story will not offer you something "new", what I mean to say is: the plot is plausible in the real world, and most likely similar situations have happened. The actors were believable because the plot is believable and what makes the plot come alive is that the reactions of the characters lead them to commit acts that only twisted, and strange people may commit. That is where most of entertainment of watching this feature will come from and I had an absolute blast watching this film. The characters evolve emotionally over the course of the film and the sense of despair that they go through is portrayed in a way that is reachable to the audience and it all leads to a finale that is subdued yet very satisfying. This movie deserves a much better rating than it has and I again, underscore the work of the writer / director who lays out thought provoking dialog, and whose personal touch with the art direction could be clearly revealed throughout the movie, adding a moody sense to a very thoughtful, and well produced film.

I saw The Maid's Room at the Hamptons Film Festival and loved it! I had no idea what to expect but was totally moved by this intense psychological thriller. It is an extremely riveting and powerful film that will haunt you long after you leave the theater. The acting was outstanding, featuring Paula Garces as Drina the maid, and a fabulous up and coming talent, Phillip Ettinger. Bill Camp and Annabella Sciorra, as Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, were outstanding as well. Each one of these performances was rich with conflict and emotion that made for a very gripping experience. The movie touches on important social issues but it is the conflict within and between each character that cause such dramatic turmoil and forces you to think more deeply about yourself once the film has ended. I love a movie that challenges me to examine myself and the world around me and this film does just that. I highly recommend seeing it.