''The Maid'' () is a 2009 Chilean

comedy-drama Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...

film, directed by Sebastián Silva and co-written by Silva and

Pedro Peirano Pedro Pablo Peirano Olate (born December 25, 1972) is a Chilean director, screenwriter, journalist, cartoonist and television producer. He wrote the film '' No'' (script developed from a theatrical monologue written by Antonio Skármeta), whic ...

. It has won numerous awards since its premiere at the 25th Annual Sundance Film Festival. The film has had much critical acclaim, particularly for

Catalina Saavedra Catalina Saavedra Pérez (born 8 January 1968) is a Chilean film, stage and television actress. She is known to international audiences for playing the title character in the 2009 film '' The Maid'', for which she received several awards and no ...

's award-winning performance as the lead character.

Plot synopsis

For over 23 years, Raquel (Saavedra) has worked as the maid for the Valdes family. She shows utmost loyalty and respect to her employers, Pilar (Celedón) and Edmundo (Goic). Raquel gets along well with their teenage son, Lucas (Agustín Silva), but often clashes with their headstrong daughter, Camila (García-Huidobro). When Raquel begins to suffer from dizzy spells caused by her excessive use of chlorine for household cleaning, Pilar decides to hire additional maids to assist Raquel with her daily chores. However, Raquel fiercely guards her territory and resents the newcomers, engaging in a series of increasingly desperate attempts to drive them away. This includes the younger maid, Lucy (Loyola), as Raquel tries to maintain her position in the household.

Cast

as Raquel *

Claudia Celedón Claudia Irene Celedón Ureta (born 15 August 1966) is a Chilean television, film, and theater actress. She is the winner of an Altazor Award for best theater actress for her role in the play ''Mujer gallina'', and was awarded at the Cartagena In ...

as Pilar * Alejandro Goic as Edmundo * Mariana Loyola as Lucy * Agustín Silva as Lucas * Andrea García-Huidobro as Camila *

Anita Reeves Anita Reeves (24 June 1948 – 7 July 2016) was an Irish stage and film actress. Early life Born in South Dublin, Ireland, the youngest daughter of Jack Reeves and his wife, Kay. Reeves grew up on Sundrive Road in Dublin 12, where her father Ja ...

as Sonia *

Delfina Guzmán Delfina Guzmán Correa (born 7 April 1928) is a Chilean actress. She has appeared in more than 30 films and television shows since 1968. She starred in the 1968 Raúl Ruiz film '' Three Sad Tigers''. She is the daughter of Florencio Guzmán L ...

as The Grandmother * Luis Dubó as Eric * Gloria Canales as Lucy's mom * Luis Wigdorsky as Lucy's dad

Reception

Critical reception

Critics have responded very positively to the film. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...

the film has a 93% approval rating, based on 75 reviews, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "Catalina Saavedra's devastating performance would be reason enough to see ''The Maid'' but Sebastian Silva's empathetic direction and finely tuned script only add to the movie's pleasing heft." On

Metacritic Metacritic is an American website that aggregates reviews of films, television shows, music albums, video games, and formerly books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created ...

, the film has a weighted average score of 82 out of 100, based on 24 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". Film critic David Parkinson called it "an exceptional study of the emotional investment that domestics make in the families they serve. Saavedra is mesmerizing as she shifts from subservient to scheming." ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily nonprofit newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has long held the second largest circulation among Chicago newspaper ...

'' film critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...

described the film as a "unpredictable, naturalistic gem."

Accolades

According to the

National Board of Review The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the film awards season that ...

, ''The Maid'' was one of 2009's five best Best Foreign-Language Films; also, it was nominated for the 67th Annual

Golden Globe Awards The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual Awards ceremony, award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally ...

consideration honoring 2009 achievements for the same category, and "AyAyAyAy" (the film's main theme song) was one of the 63 songs from eligible feature-length motion pictures contending for nominations in the Original Song category for the

82nd Academy Awards The 82nd Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2009 and took place on March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, beginning at 5:30 p.m. ...

. Despite the film's great success, the film was not chosen as Chile's submission to the 82nd Academy Awards. Instead,

Miguel Littín Miguel Ernesto Littin Cucumides (born 9 August 1942) is a Chilean film director, screenwriter, film producer and novelist. He was born in Palmilla, Colchagua Valley. CHILE. Career Miguel Littin directed ''Jackal of Nahueltoro, El Chacal de Nahu ...

's '' Dawson Isla 10'' was sent, but the film didn't make the short-list.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Maid 2009 films 2009 comedy-drama films 2009 independent films 2000s Chilean films 2000s Spanish-language films Chilean comedy-drama films Chilean independent films Films about maids Satellite Award–winning films Spanish-language comedy-drama films Sundance Film Festival award–winning films Spanish-language independent films