The Housemaid, first a novel and now a 2025 film, is a pulpy story about power, control, and freedom. It follows Millie Calloway, a woman just released from prison, who takes a live-in job with the Winchester family, a seemingly perfect household on Long Island. At first, everything looks normal—big house, designer clothes, and a charming family—but soon things start spiraling. Directed by Paul Feig, Freida McFadden’s psychological thriller has a slightly campy feel, especially in the way the rich characters act, swinging from charm to cruelty in unpredictable ways. Both the book and the movie focus on the dangerous games people play when privilege and power are involved.
The Housemaid is equal parts dark thriller and melodrama, but it doesn’t always land. The story about Millie, caught in a wealthy family’s twisted games, has some interesting twists, but the plot often feels messy and over-explained. Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried give strong performances, especially in showing the exaggerated, almost theatrical personalities of their characters. The film tries to balance suspense with humor and style, but the shifting tone makes it hard to fully engage with the story. Overall, it’s a movie with fun, dramatic moments and clever ideas, but it never quite comes together the way it could have.
In this article, I will dive deep into the plot of the movie, explore the dramatic turn of events at the end, and reveal what happens to Nina, Andrew, and Millie. Please note, this article contains full spoilers, so reader discretion is advised.
The Housemaid (2025) Plot Summary and Movie Synopsis:
What made Millie take up a job as a live-in housemaid?
Millie Calloway is fresh out of prison, on parole, and desperate for work. She takes a job as a live-in housemaid for the rich Winchester family on Long Island. The family seems perfect at first. There is Nina Winchester, her husband Andrew, and their young daughter, Cece. Nina is very excited to have Millie around to help, as we learn that she is expecting their second child. She introduces Millie to every corner of the house and even gives away some of her designer clothes, as they no longer fit due to her pregnancy. Nina also assigns Millie a small room in the attic, one that locks from the outside. Millie finds it odd but brushes it off, telling herself she cannot afford to question the job or anything strange about the house.
Nina’s behavior soon starts to feel off. She gives Millie confusing instructions, snaps over minor mistakes, and sometimes wrecks things around the house, leaving Millie constantly on edge. Nina’s strange behaviour starts to resemble that of a spoiled rich wife with tantrum issues. On the other hand, Andrew seems understanding, caring, and steady, a reassuring presence in the household. He often stands up for Millie in front of Nina when his wife acts out violently over trivial things. This leads Millie to trust and rely more on Andrew than Nina.
Why does Nina get angry with Millie?
As Millie settles into the rhythm of cleaning, cooking, and looking after Cece, she finds out about Nina’s past from one of the nannies at Cece’s ballet class. She also eavesdrops on conversations between the rich wives during a high tea party at the house. It turns out that Nina was once institutionalised after an incident involving her daughter and an attempted suicide. She also learns that Nina has been lying about her pregnancy. Meanwhile, Nina’s mood swings become more frequent and much worse. One day, Nina lashes out at Millie after finding out that she booked a night out at an expensive hotel, which is impossible as that particular weekend is booked for Cece’s recital. However, when Millie confronts her and says it was as per Nina’s instructions, Nina becomes even more furious.
Andrew intervenes in the situation, suggesting a reversal of the booking. Nina calms down and decides to leave for Cece’s recital. Meanwhile, Andrew cannot get the refund and suggests that Millie use the booking instead. Since day one of Millie’s job, Andrew has been visibly attracted to her. Being the constant bridge between Nina and Millie draws Andrew even closer to Millie. Reluctant at first, Millie hesitates.
Why does Andrew lock Millie in the attic?
However, when Andrew assures her that he can accompany her to the show and dinner as a thank you for dealing with so much in the house, the two head off to New York City. While they have a great time over drinks and dinner, panic seeps in when Millie finds several missed calls and texts from Nina. This leads a hyperventilating Millie to meet Andrew at his hotel room later that night, which eventually leads to the two sleeping together. On their way back home, Andrew tells Millie that Nina can never know about this and that she must keep it a secret.
Things go horribly wrong after this point for Millie. Upon Nina’s arrival the next morning, Millie finds out that Nina knows about her jail time, her deal with the parole officer, and that Millie and Andrew have slept together. Things get heated soon, and Andrew yells at Nina for being out of control and for her bad behaviour towards Millie. He even asks Nina to leave the house. Seeing Andrew and Millie form a team against her, she leaves immediately.
Also Read: The Housemaid (2025) Movie Review: A Camp Thriller Falls Uncomfortably Between Satire and Melodrama
Why does Andrew want Millie to hurt herself?
From that moment on, Millie’s life changes instantly. Andrew treats her like a princess, and the two go completely crazy about one another. However, the story turns on its head with the first twist when Millie accidentally breaks a plate from Andrew’s mother’s china set. Andrew takes her up to the attic under the guise of sleep, but the next morning, she wakes up locked inside. From the stairs, Andrew tells her that she must carve 21 deep cuts into her stomach with a piece of the broken plate to earn her freedom.
It turns out the attic was never a spare bedroom, but rather a punishment chamber that Andrew had used before. A flashback shows how Nina and Andrew’s perfect love story turned into a nightmare for Nina when Andrew started torturing her in the attic for minor mistakes. He would lock her up in the attic for days until she proved herself to him through good behaviour. For years, she endured his torture and abuse, so much so that he even made her seem mentally unstable by drugging her, making it look like she tried to kill Cece and herself.
When no one believed her, she decided to take control of her life. Hiring Millie had been bait for Nina’s freedom. Andrew liked a certain type of woman, young, vulnerable, and single, and Millie fit the bill in all aspects. Nina’s plan was to draw Andrew into exposing who he really was so she could escape with Cece.
The Housemaid (2025) Movie Ending Explained:
What happens to Nina and Millie in the end?
On the other hand, we see Millie eventually obeying Andrew’s orders and making the cuts. When he comes in to release her, she pretends to understand what he wants before stabbing him in the neck with a cheese knife she finds in the attic room. She turns the tables by locking him inside the attic with his own punishment tools, which include forcing him to pull out his own tooth so he can never charm other women with his bewitching smile.
Meanwhile, when Nina decides to leave Andrew for good, along with her daughter, Cece tells her that they must save Millie. So when Nina returns to help Millie, believing she must be locked in the attic, she accidentally lets Andrew out. This is when Andrew’s true nature comes into full form as he starts running after Millie for revenge. However, when he finds Nina, he gaslights her and shames her for disappointing him with her absurd, bad behaviour. As he tries to get closer to Nina to hurt her, Millie comes in and pushes Andrew over a spiral staircase banister, leading to his instant death.
Later, when the police question Nina, she shares that Andrew must have fallen while changing a lightbulb. However, the investigating officer in charge sympathises with Nina, as her own sister was once a victim of Andrew’s abuse until she finally walked away from the relationship. During Andrew’s funeral, while meeting his mother, Nina realises that Andrew was himself a product of abuse, gaslighting, and torture. As Nina decides to start her life afresh with the money from selling the house, she meets Millie, gives her a cheque for 100,000 dollars, and leaves.
The ending of The Housemaid (2025) shows Millie meeting a woman for an interview. The woman is a close acquaintance of Nina’s, and she tells Millie that she needs help dealing with her husband, who is incredibly difficult. The last scene shows Millie agreeing to take up the job, saying, “with pleasure,” signifying a possible sequel to the story.
The Housemaid (2025) Movie Themes Analysed:
Breaking the Cycle of Manipulation, Gaslighting, and Domestic Abuse
The ending of The Housemaid flips the entire story on its head. For most of the movie, it appears that Nina is unstable and a threat to Millie. But once the big twist is revealed, we realise that Nina was simply trying to protect herself and her daughter from Andrew’s psychological abuse. Years of constant manipulation and control pushed Nina to take a drastic step, even if it meant throwing another woman under the bus.
Practically, one might say that she should have reported the abuse. However, in reality, a person enduring abuse is rarely able to take that step immediately due to the fear of losing whatever little stability they have. For Nina, Cece’s safety and well-being were crucial. Even though the movie introduces another male character, Enzo, the gardener, as someone who could help Nina, relying on him would still mean depending on yet another man. This mirrors how Andrew once stepped in for Nina when she was struggling as a breastfeeding mother who could barely make ends meet.
As a result, plotting revenge and finding freedom from Andrew by using Millie as bait felt like the only option available to her. Things take a darker turn when Millie enters the picture. She is strong-headed and speaks up when she senses something is wrong. Millie has dealt with a similar situation in the past, back in college, when she saved her roommate from a sexual assault attempt. Even though she ended up serving prison time despite protecting her friend, who later denied knowing anything about the incident, Millie remains firm in her belief that she will never tolerate abusive behaviour from men, even if it comes at a cost. In the story, Millie emerges as someone who ultimately breaks the cycle of abuse.
Andrew, on the other hand, represents the kind of person who uses charm to lure and control vulnerable people. Coming from a background of abuse himself, he never breaks out of the cycle and instead repeats the same patterns to maintain power and dominance over others. The real villain, however, is Andrew’s mother, a character who is never fully explored. Her constant abuse and impossible standards shaped Andrew into someone who is desperate to please and be in control. When a person is forced to comply with certain behaviours for a long period of time, those behaviours become second nature, and Andrew’s actions are a direct result of that conditioning.
