By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Jorge Gaggero
Starring: Marcos Mundstock | Norma Aleandro | Norma Argentina
Original language title: Cama Adentro
Country: argentina, spain
Year: 2007
Running time: 83
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0356453/
Bruce says: “Love/hate relationships are always good for a few laughs and LIVE-IN MAID serves that axiom well. Beba Pujol
is used to having her own way. Belonging to the pampered class, Beba has never learned to pick up after herself. She is condescending to anyone she feels is beneath her and when no catastrophe is at hand she quickly creates faux crises to fill in the gaps. When the money from her ex-husband dries up, Beba discovers who is loyal and who is not. She also learns new ways to perpetrate pretentiousness.
“Beba’s maid Dora also is on the learning curve. Dora learns that loyalty to one’s employer is not what it’s cracked up to be, particularly when it is largely unappreciated. None of their thoughts make much difference in the greater scheme of things. Bonding often has more to do with establishing a comfort level than it does in finding common ground. The two women have developed a co-dependency and after nearly 30 years are bound to one another in a very twisted yet satisfying way. However, a nagging issue of back pay threatens the status quo.
“Dora, although she lives in most of the week, has a house and husband in a village on the outskirts of Buenos Aires. She has a highly defined work ethic and works slavishly in her own house. Her shiftless husband would rather play soccer or hang out at the local bar than look for work or finish repairs on the house.
“When Dora decides enough is enough, she goes to an employment agency looking for another job. Beba borrows one last amount from her ex-husband but that may not be sufficient to maintain her apartment. These events propel the story to an amusing climax.
“Norma Aleandro is arguably Argentina’s leading actress. That she would consider taking such a role in a small independent film is testimony to good material attracting top talent. She hams up her part deliciously. Norma Argentina is a non-actor who was discovered shortly before the film began. She does her job like a pro. That fact has not gone unnoticed. She has recently completed her fifth film since her acting debut in LIVE-IN MAID. That film, James Ivory’s CITY OF YOUR FINAL DESTINATION, also stars Norma Aleandro. Brava! 3.5 cats”