Slate by Dana Stevens

It's funny--bleakly, blackly so at times, but also tenderly funny with flashes of genuine compassion. The Maid is among the best films I've seen this year.

Washington Post by Jan Stuart

As played by the captivating Mariana Loyola, Lucy is a life force, cut from similar cloth as the perky schoolteacher of Mike Leigh's "Happy-Go-Lucky": unsinkable, unswervable and more than a little irreverent.

San Francisco Chronicle by Mick LaSalle

The Maid would have been worthwhile just as a showcase both for good acting and for the director's virtuosity. But the movie's ultimate virtue is its humanity.

Entertainment Weekly by Lisa Schwarzbaum

Raquel's devotion to her employer is barbed with hatred, need, and an insecurity she manifests through constant tiny acts of sabotage that would be funny if they weren't also so chilling -- bordering on psychotic.

The Hollywood Reporter

This is strikingly talented cinema from a notable international filmmaker.

Village Voice

In a remarkable performance that won her a special award from the world cinema jury at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Chilean television vet Saavedra goes through one of the most uncanny psychophysical transformations I've ever seen in a movie without the benefit of obvious makeup or other prosthetics.

Variety by Justin Chang

Saavedra is riveting as a servant whose unblinking focus on her routine masks a profound loneliness.

The Hollywood Reporter by Justin Lowe

This is strikingly talented cinema from a notable international filmmaker.

Village Voice by Scott Foundas

In a remarkable performance that won her a special award from the world cinema jury at this year's Sundance Film Festival, Chilean television vet Saavedra goes through one of the most uncanny psychophysical transformations I've ever seen in a movie without the benefit of obvious makeup or other prosthetics.

Los Angeles Times by Kenneth Turan

The Maid has that particular gift of leaving you off balance in the best possible way, and whenever something like that comes around you owe it to yourself to check it out.

Chicago Tribune by Michael Phillips

Tone is everything here. While likely influenced by Chilean absurdists of another era, such as playwright Egon Wolff, in The Maid Silva treads an ultra-fine line between caricature and character, leaning toward the latter without weighing down an essentially featherweight creation.

NPR by Ella Taylor

In the end what drives the movie is the hip young filmmaker's struggle with himself -- his showman's need to toy with our anxieties threatening to overwhelm his desire to make amends to all the servants he took for granted growing up.

New York Daily News by Elizabeth Weitzman

Silva intends to keep us guessing, and it's fair to say he takes us in unexpected directions. But don't expect any flashy Hollywood twists. The surprises come from Catalina Saavedra's intense lead performance.

The New York Times by Manohla Dargis

It takes Mr. Silva a while to finish his story, but the ending of The Maid is so intelligently handled and so generously and honestly conceived, it proves well worth the wait.

Time Out by Karina Longworth

Saavedra, in an incredibly vanity-free performance, never shies away from Raquel’s darkest edges and still forces us to empathize with the frustrations and stunted loneliness of a life lived in servants’ quarters.

New York Magazine (Vulture) by David Edelstein

At its midpoint, the film could go either way: toward "The Hand That Rocks the Cradle" psychosis or something more hopeful and humanistic. It’s a testament to Saavedra’s tough performance that even with a happy ending, you wouldn’t want to leave her with your kids.

The A.V. Club by Noel Murray

Even at its most upbeat, The Maid is something of a tragedy.