Review by Eric Hillis
Directed by: Atom Egoyan
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Liddiard, Douglas Smith, Mark O'Brien, Vinessa Antoine
When films about fictional artists have to give us an example of their subject's work, it's often underwhelming. Has anyone listened to the opus from Mr. Holland's Opus since 1995? Or how about the songs from the recent thriller Opus? Those tunes were supposed to be a product of the world's most revered pop star, but did anyone rush out to buy the soundtrack?
Atom Egoyan's Seven Veils might be the first movie about a fictional creator whose artistic creation is more impressive than the film around it. The movie is set during the rehearsal and premiere of a production of Richard Strauss's opera Salome. Egoyan has mounted his own productions of that opera, in 1996 and 2013, and the Salome we see on the stage within his film is based on his own past work. Incorporating shadow puppetry and bloody effects, Egoyan's Salome looks like a blast, certainly far more entertaining than the flimsy narrative he has now built around that production.
Much like Luca Guadagnino's recent After the Hunt, this is another half-baked MeToo drama that relies heavily on a central performance from a compelling actress to keep us engaged. Amanda Seyfried, who previously played the titular fantasy object in Egoyan's Chloe, plays Jeanine, a theatre director who finds herself directing a production of Salome that was originally mounted by her late mentor Charles. Despite Jeanine having never directed an opera, it was Charles' dying wish that she be given this chance.
It's heavily implied that Jeanine was romantically involved with Charles, and we learn that his version of the opera incorporated elements of Jeanine's childhood. It's never made explicitly clear, but we're given enough evidence to suggest Jeanine had been a victim of abuse at her father's hands. In disturbing camcorder footage we see a young Jeanine brought to the woods by her father and forced to dance while blindfolded, an image that has subsequently become a part of Charles' version of Salome.
The central idea here is that Jeanine must confront her past and reclaim it through taking on Charles' Salome. But this is the least convincing aspect of Egoyan's film. It relies heavily on hysterics from Seyfried, whose crazy eyes are working overtime here. Seyfried's performance is more operatic than that of the actual opera singers who make up Jeanine's cast, but she certainly enlivens the drama.
Far more interesting is Jeanine's conflict with her cast and the opera's producers. The ideas Jeanine brings to the table are unconventional in opera circles, drawing the ire of her performers, who simply want to be allowed to sing their hearts out without having to worry about hitting marks. We suspect this is all based on Egoyan's own experiences of trying to transfer his filmmaking skills to opera, and so it all feels real in a way the central reconciling-of-trauma plotline never does.
There is another subplot that might have fuelled a more interesting movie of its own. Prop-maker Clea (Rebecca Liddiard) happens to be the girlfriend of Rachel (Vinessa Antoine), the understudy to the production's female lead Ambur (Ambur Braid). Determined to oust Ambur and have Rachel installed in her place, Clea schemes to capture a sexual assault on camera, knowing the "handsy" reputation of the play's male lead (Michael Kupfer-Radecky, who seems to be channelling Uwe Boll). Liddiard is quietly the standout of the film, but this subplot isn't given the bandwidth it requires and ultimately comes off as deeply problematic, at odds with the film's general pseudo-feminist pretensions.
The climax plays out during the premiere of Jeanine/Egoyan's Salome, but by that point we've lost so much interest in the fictional drama that our eyes and ears turn to the opera within the movie rather than the movie itself. I can't recommend Seven Veils, but based on what we see here, I'd gladly watch Egoyan's Salome.
Seven Veils is on UK/ROI VOD and Prime Video UK now.
