An acidly funny black comedy from Chile, The Maid is about a
live-in housekeeper for a wealthy Santiago family who becomes a
raging passive-aggressive sociopath when her employers bring in
extra help. What might have been a condescending social-issue drama
about oppressed servants or a shrill send-up of the ruling class
instead becomes a carefully etched character study: With her troll-like
physique, lipless grimace, and frumpy curls, Catalina Saavedra’s
ferociously territorial cleaning lady is an indelible
creation—pathetic and vindictive, but never entirely
ridiculous. (See Movie Times: thestranger.com/film.)