Naomi Watts plays hidden-past homemaker in true-story 'The Housewife'
Naomi Watts plays a Queens homemaker with a hidden wartime past in The Housewife.
Variety published its review of the film on 23 September 2026. The story is based on a true Nazi-hunting case in mid-1960s New York City. Watts plays immigrant homemaker Hermine Ryan, née Braunsteiner.
Ryan is Austrian-born and married to a construction worker, according to Deadline. Her husband, Russell, is played by Luke Evans. The film presents Ryan as a former Nazi death camp guard who lived for years in Queens undetected, as reported by the New York Post.
The search for the truth comes from two directions. Tye Sheridan plays New York Times reporter Joseph Lelyveld. Michael Imperioli plays immigration official Anthony DeVito.
Behind the camera, the film is a debut feature for director Ben Shirinian, from a script by Alyssa Hill. The story is set in 1964. Although set in Queens, it was mostly shot in Montreal, where the Canadian-born Shirinian is from.
The release has moved through the autumn festival circuit. Watts was honoured at the San Sebastián Film Festival, where The Housewife was also screened. Variety reported on 31 August that she was due to collect that honour on Saturday, 19 September. She is also set to receive the Zurich Film Festival's Golden Eye Award.
For viewers coming to the case cold, the central tension is domestic. A quiet married life in 1960s Queens sits alongside questions about identity and accountability.
Early trade coverage has focused on the lead performance. The Hollywood Reporter described Watts's work in the title role as superb and riveting in its review published on 11 September.
