> If Cuarón's experience was always defined by a very simple interface (that of the "sirvienta" or "mucama"), then it's understandable that his version of her is a muted - one could say desaturated - version of the real person

That's just rationalizing away the fact that the film's subject was poorly handled by the film's director. Someone else - and I'm not suggesting that has to be someone whose experiences more closely map to Cleo's - could have told this story better, or at least in a way that would have felt less out of touch.

The film was pretty beautiful but dramatically, a miss.