You know what Sydney Sweeney and Colleen Hoover have in common? All of their movies are massive failures in one way or another, yet they keep on making more.

Seriously, look at the films that Sweeney has made since she broke out five years ago. All of them promptly vanished into obscurity and/or massively bombed at the box office. There was only one notable exception: Anyone But You.

Audiences didn’t come to see Sweeney in Immaculate. They didn’t come to see her in Americana. Of course nobody came to see her in Madame Web, let’s not hold that one against her. No, the audiences came to see her in the freaking romcom. To me, this sends the clear message that for whatever stupid reason, the greater moviegoing public is simply not interested in Sydney Sweeney unless she has her boobs out and her mouth shut. Hell, even when she has her mouth shut, it’s like the world will take any excuse to make her into some kind of scapegoat. (She did eventually apologize for her neutrality on that farcical American Eagle fiasco.)

Yet even despite all of that, Sweeney refuses to act as some inoffensive sex object. She keeps on making bold artistic choices, pushing herself as an actor, and taking roles in movies that were never going to win big at the box office anyway. And good for her, I’d say.

(Side note: Don’t even get me started on the outrageously absurd fan campaign to cast Sydney Sweeney as Power Girl. No regard for how this would fit with Sweeney’s career moves to date, no regard for how this could possibly fit into James Gunn’s plan for the new DCU, and no regard for what a Power Girl movie would be about. All that matters is Power Girl’s outfit and getting Sydney Sweeney’s tits into it. Because T&A is apparently the only worthwhile thing about either one. Go fuck yourselves.)

So here we are with The Housemaid, in which Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried (another Hot Young Thing deep into her bold and artistic career reinvention) both star and exec-produce. And the film comes to us from… wait, Paul Feig? He directed this?! Holy shit, I remember when Paul Feig’s name would be on every poster and trailer for a film he directed. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve never been a fan of Feig, and I’m more than a little relieved that he doesn’t have the clout that he used to. I’m nonetheless surprised and intrigued with the notion that he’s directing a film that isn’t made or marketed on his trademark brand of comedy.

Sweeney plays Millie Calloway, a paroled and homeless ex-con who crosses paths with the wealthy Winchester family (no, not that one). Seyfried plays Nina Winchester, who lives in a huge luxurious house with her husband and daughter (Andrew and Cece, respectively played by Brandon Sklenar and Indiana Elle). Long story short, Millie bluffs her way into a job as the Winchesters’ live-in housemaid. It’s all downhill from there.

From the outset, Nina shows behavior that could charitably called “erratic”. She’s gaslighting, she’s overbearing, she’s abusive, she’s narcissistic to the point of near-psychotic. I might further add that her daughter is a bratty little bitch and the groundskeeper (Enzo, played by Michele Morrone) is a brooding creep.

The only one in this entire house who treats Millie with some modicum of respect is Andrew, but it’s not entirely clear as to whether he’s able or interested in maintaining a professional and platonic relationship with the housemaid. (Also, Millie the paroled ex-con states outright that she hasn’t gotten laid in ten years, so there’s that.) Oh, and let’s not even get started on the brain-dead yuppie housewives that the Winchesters socialize with. To say nothing of Andrew’s mother (played by Elizabeth Perkins), who’s a whole ‘nother kind of nightmare.

Last but not least, let’s not forget that Millie is out on parole and therefore unemployable because nobody wants to hire a convicted felon. And without a job, she’s got no money, no home, and no chance of keeping up the parole hearings long enough to stay out of prison. Which means she needs to shut up, take the abuse, and do whatever it takes to keep Nina happy and keep the job. In turn, this means keeping up the lies and concealed truths that got her the job in the first place, so it’s not like she’s the only one here with secrets.

Speaking of which, what exactly did Millie go to prison for? And what exactly do the Winchesters do for work, such that they can afford this lavish lifestyle? And why the hell didn’t Nina run any kind of background check that would’ve immediately proven Millie’s resume was a pack of lies? All questions that need answering.

The first half of the film is all about these eccentricities and questions that keep piling up. And the mysteries are suitably intriguing. The leads are all playing superbly to their respective strengths. The themes of class disparity are all present and compelling. And when the big reveal finally comes, it’s an elegant and frankly inspired solution.

Here’s the problem: The film keeps going.

The third act is a totally different movie altogether — a far less compelling and unique one. I’m sorry to say that once we actually know who the real villain is and what the real motivations are, the characters actually become less interesting. It’s like the characters lose all dimension, the plot loses all tension, and the themes lose all nuance, all in an instant.

We started out with an erotic/psychological suspense thriller about class disparity and cultural biases against the unhoused, the mentally ill, former convicts, etc. And somehow, all of that got thrown out the window so we could watch a straightforward revenge thriller power fantasy. Quite a letdown.

The bad news is, The Housemaid is a tough one to evaluate. The first two acts are so compelling and that reveal is so damn good, it’s a real disappointment that the third act is so boring by comparison. It’s hard to tell if this is worth a big-screen watch or better on home video.

The good news is, that choice was already made for us. The studio sent this movie straight to box-office hell when it got scheduled opposite an Avatar movie. Factor in all the awards contenders coming in a few weeks, and this one’s not long for theaters. It was built for home video, and that’s where it’s audience will find it.