SEVEN VEILS
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Douglas Smith, Vinessa Antoine, Rebecca Liddiard, Ambur Braid, Michael Kupfer-Radecky, Mark O’Brien, and Lynne Griffin
Director: Atom Egoyan
NICK
As a last-minute addition to my TIFF schedule this year, I was not expecting Seven Veils to floor me like it did. The way director Atom Egoyan explores trauma by using parallels between life and the remounting of Salome is sensational, and it’s all held together by a fantastic performance from Amanda Seyfried. Egoyan takes you through the inner workings of the opera, with a focus on everything from the cast to the props designer, and manages to make it all gripping in what must be viewed as his career highlight. A true triumph across the board.
KATIE
I found it difficult to decipher the point of Seven Veils. Admittedly, I was unfamiliar with the opera Salome before watching, which may have contributed to my confusion, but I was still left struggling to decipher the uneven tone and various dramatic subplots. The film throws up some contentious issues without properly addressing them, including ambivalent attitudes towards intimacy co-ordinators, which were tough to understand alongside the themes of childhood trauma and inappropriate relationships. Nonetheless, Amanda Seyfried’s controlled performance is fantastic, and she was the only character I cared about, especially as she made the oddly unnatural dialogue emotionally engaging.
This film was reviewed by Nick as part of Bitesize Breakdown's coverage of the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.