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The Maid Stars: Catalina Saavedra, Claudia Celedon, Mariana Loyola, Aljandro Goic, Anita Reeves, Delfina Guzman, Andrea Garcia-Huidobro, Mercedes Villanueva and Agustin Silva Director: Sebastian Silva Scriptwriter: Sebastian Silva and Pedro Peirano Forastero/Diroriro Films Country: Chile (subtitled) Rating: R for sexuality Running Length: 105 minutes For people who can afford to have a maid, this film will give you thought. It is a character study of a woman who has spent over 20 years caring for the same family, to the point that she is exhausted. Talk about dedication. Chilean director Sebastian Silva has an interesting script and actress Catalina Saavedra takes the role of Raquel and runs with it. The camera centers on her with long tracking shots as she goes through the family home on her cleaning routine. We enter the film at Raquel’s birthday. She is eating alone in the kitchen, while the family tries to get her into their dining room for cake and presents. She just seems to think her place is not with them, though, but clearly most of the family members like her. Teen daughter, Camilla (Andrea Garcia-Huidobro) is the exception and of the age where she is the only one who is right. We see that Raquel takes headache medicine and eventually faints. To help her work load, the family hires a second maid, but Raquel sees each successive one as competition and with increasing steps toward actual violence, manages to get them to leave. The Maid lets you see the maid prospects on the market and how one person can control a family. After twenty years, no one can say “no” to Raquel, who gives the word “loneliness” new meaning. Raquel isn’t a particularly pleasant person, but the family is so busy, they don’t seem to notice until other maids are present. They are friendly and Raquel is sullen and standoffish. If this were a horror film, at this point knives would flash, but that doesn’t happen in The Maid. Instead, Raquel faints again and is hospitalized. Enter the latest maid, Lucy (Mariana Loyola) who won’t take any sarcasm from Raquel and in short order, becomes her friend. Friendship is something Raquel didn’t have and to see her emotionally unfold for the better is a revelation. Actresses Catalina Saavedra and Mariana Loyola play off each other well and their banter seems natural. The family is fun to be with and all of this combined makes the film an incisive study of a particular work situation. Copyright 2010 Marie Asner
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