Amanda Seyfried & Sydney Sweeney in ‘La Femme de Ménage’: Does the Trailer Do the Book Justice?

The trailer for “The Housemaid,” based on Freida McFadden’s best-selling novel, was unveiled last Tuesday. The film follows Millie (Sydney Sweeney), a young woman who works for the Winchesters, a wealthy New York family. She cleans their home, cares for their daughter, prepares meals, and then retires to her small attic room.

For Millie, this job represents a fresh start. However, beneath the respectable facade, her employer Nina (Amanda Seyfried) reveals an increasingly toxic personality. When Millie finds out that her room’s door only locks from the outside, it might already be too late…

A Literary Phenomenon

Becoming a sensation through TikTok, the novel has been translated into over 40 languages and sold more than 4.5 million copies worldwide. In France, it was the best-selling book of 2024 with 620,000 copies sold. Riding on this success, Freida McFadden wrote two sequels to her “Housemaid” saga, as well as other psychological thrillers (“The Psychologist”, “The Teacher”…). In total, her books have sold 2.7 million copies in France.

What’s the secret to this popularity? The final twist. Each of McFadden’s books features a surprising plot twist that has captivated millions of readers and sparked widespread discussion on BookTok. Many have filmed themselves reacting live to the ending of “The Housemaid.” This phenomenon is already repeating itself with the film: on TikTok, videos of fans reacting to Paul Feig’s trailer are proliferating.

But then, what do readers think of these initial visuals?

On the official Lionsgate YouTube page, the trailer for “The Housemaid” has already amassed over 5.4 million views. The feedback is overwhelmingly positive. The casting, especially the choices of Sydney Sweeney and Amanda Seyfried, and Michele Morrone as Enzo, has been well received. The Winchester’s house is also deemed faithful to its description in the novel. The trailer further showcases iconic scenes, such as Millie’s introduction to Andrew (Brendan Sklenar), the bathroom sequence, Millie appearing in white, and the discovery of her room.

The Controversial Room

And it’s Millie’s room that has sparked the most debate among commenters. In the novel, this room is located in the attic. It’s described as cramped and run-down, with dirty, faded walls.

“A tiny room. There’s no other way to describe it. Not only that, but the ceiling is slanted, just like the house’s roof, so the opposite side comes up to about my waist. Instead of the huge king-size bed in the Winchester’s master bedroom, with its chestnut armoire and dressing table, this room contains a small single cot, a half-height bookshelf, and a small dresser, all lit by two bare light bulbs hanging from the ceiling,” Millie observes upon discovering the room in the novel.

A bit further on, we learn that the mattress is stained, set on a shaky frame. A small window barely lets in any light, and crucially, the door locks from the outside, immediately creating an impression of confinement and entrapment.

In the trailer, although it appears modest, the room seems significantly larger, cleaner, and brighter—a difference that fans did not fail to notice.

“Is it just me, or does Millie’s room seem much larger and brighter than described in the book? I always imagined her room very small, with dark wooden floors and walls,” writes a viewer in the trailer’s comments. Another adds, “In the book, the room is the biggest red flag. It’s more like a prison cell than a room, but that’s not the case here.”

On TikTok, a reader adds: “When I read the description of the room in the book, I thought of Harry Potter’s cupboard under the stairs. But this room would be very expensive in London! It’s beautiful, luxurious. There’s even a couch! It’s not at all what the book indicated.”

Is Amanda Seyfried Too Thin to Play Nina?

Another point of contention is Amanda Seyfried’s physique. In the novel, Nina is described several times as a full-bodied woman. Millie even compares photos of her employer at the start of her relationship with Andrew to her current physical state. This detail, seemingly trivial, becomes significant by the end of the story. However, Amanda Seyfried appears slender in the trailer.

Many readers feel that Nina’s physical appearance as described in the novel—“corpulent” or “overweight”—is not reflected. Amanda Seyfried seems too thin compared to the image they had of the character.

They emphasize that the contrast between Millie and Nina is partly physical: the mistress of the house lets herself go, wears stained clothes, and shows her roots… Under the trailer, a viewer writes: “This looks like a correct representation of the novel, except that the current Nina is way too thin. It’s an important point for the plot if you want to follow the book.” Another adds: “Great, except Nina is thin… that was part of her story, she let herself go.”

On Reddit, the same criticism recurs: “Nina is supposed to be overweight. It’s an important characteristic of her character. The narrator constantly talks about her weight…”

On X, a viewer even doubts the choice of the actress. “Amanda Seyfried? As Nina? As a woman supposed not to fit into the same size as the maid because she let herself go after marriage?”

Another element noted in the trailer is the choice of the song “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter. With its catchy rhythm and simultaneous soft and unsettling tones, it perfectly accompanies the initial images of the film, highlighting the mix of mystery and psychological tension that characterizes the story. A viewer comments on the trailer: “Having ‘Please Please Please’ as the trailer’s song is brilliant. Without spoiling, but if you’ve read the book, you’ll understand why this song is perfect.”

Thus, the trailer for “The Housemaid” has sparked a mix of excitement and debate among readers of the novel. While the casting and the fidelity of certain settings are widely praised, significant differences, such as Millie’s room or Nina’s physique, continue to generate discussion. These details, although minor, are significant and prove that the adaptation of Frieda McFadden’s novel is eagerly awaited by fans.

“The Housemaid” hits theaters on December 24, 2025.