Having had a pretty rough time of it in Last Night In Soho, Thomasin McKenzie is trading London for Massachusetts, fashion design for prison secretarial work, and even making pals with new prison psychologist on the block Anne Hathaway in Lady Macbeth director William Oldroyd's '60s-set Eileen. What could possibly go wrong this time? Check out the newly released first trailer for the psychological noir thriller below:
Ah. Maybe we spoke too soon! And everything starts so promisingly for McKenzie's titular secretary in the trailer, too. "My day was a doozy," Eileen tells her dad over the phone at the start of this uber-stylish teaser. "It was one of those days you never forget." Why, we hear you cry? Well, because of the arrival of Hathaway's psychologist Rebecca (whose name's not the only thing giving major Hitchcock vibes here) – a blonde-haired, cigarette smoking bombshell who comes with a warning: "She may look easy on the eyes but I assure you, she is very smart." And before you can say, "Hey, this feels like prison Carol!", we're suddenly being thrust into a world of queer desire, "secrets and lies", and ominous warnings that "love will make you crazy" as we see Rebecca and Eileen get under each others' skin and into each others' heads. There's also some portentous business with a gun that doesn't look so wholesome.
Written by Ottessa Moshfegh and Luke Goebel, and co-starring Shea Whigham, Marin Ireland and Owen Teague, the trailer for the film has real visual flair and a modern streak to set your pulse racing. Even Hathaway's ominous parting shot ("Some things are so twisted, the only way out is for someone to die") sounds kind of romantic in the context of the trailer. But we have a feeling McKenzie may be in for another difficult night or two before this one's through. Maybe she'll pull 'lovely rom-com' from the genre hat next time. Until then, this one has both our curiosity and our attention. Eileen is set to release in cinemas on 1 December.