Seven Veils

Telling an incredible story that merges beautiful scenes and a rich musical score through what appears to be a typically Egoyan disjointed narrative.

Egoyan's genius is his capacity to depict the brutality of human experiences with tenderness and compassion.

This movie is at par with the best of Hollywood and better still because of its intelligence and the timeliness of its message.

Amanda Steyfried's starring role as Jeanine is absolutely perfect along with a first class cast that will be sure to leave audiences satisfied.

Got to enjoy this movie before its public release and it was truly a treat.

In dark-drama "Seven Veils" Amanda Seyfried (as strong as ever) directs a remounting of the opera 'Salome' that her now deceased mentor & lover originally directed. In rhythm with the production (involving the likes of Rebecca Liddiard (good), Lanette Ware, Vanessa Antoine, and actual opera stars Ambur Braid & Michael Kupfer-Radecky) Seyfried evokes emotions from her own childhood trauma and current troubled marriage. Experienced writer / director Atom Egoyan clearly immersed himself in Richard Strauss' opera (and Oscar Wilde's play it was based on) which fans of may really enjoy - but for others this may be too 'artsy' to entertain.

I went through this pretty uncomfortable - sure it's about uncomfortable things, but the real reason for my uncomfortableness is just whole conception, approach of script and directing.

Surely opera fans will like it better. I don't need opera, bad things happen without musical background in real life. And even in some movies. Staged bad things ? Yeah, that's is what is big part in this, even aside from stage.

Acting was overall pretty good, however Amanda Bigeyeied did not seem as right for that part.

Was she (I mean character who played) watched with her daughter that bloody chopped head scene on TV near to end ?

Maybe director wanted that people think about it after watching :-)

Seyfried acting is excellent. Reality turns out to be even more tragic and complicated than the opera plot. Or perhaps we could say, that this is a way to convey a reality as dramatic as an opera, without taking focus from the work they are all doing.

I enjoyed it, though the subject can be hard to watch at moments. The work of a director can be fascinating and I really liked the way she developed it, without second guessing herself even though she is new, even when everybody seems against her, or even when they all try to make fun of her and assume they all know better than her because they are some part or it.

There is an enthralling and haunting Hawthorne story where a father, a prominent avant garde physician, is fiercely protective of his daughter. As a child he gradually introduces her to a deadly poisonous plant. By the time she matures anyone who gets too close to her will suffer and die. The poison of the plant is infused in her life blood. The woman is beautiful, and terrible. "Don't you love," he asks "that no one can bring you down?" Her reply cuts to the bone. "Father, I would have preferred to love someone."

Jeanine is a theater director trying, like the woman in the Hawthorne story, to break free from the shadow of heartless people. Suffering abuse from her father, mentor, husband, and now an arrogant actor, - abuse that they call "love" - Jeanine attempts to heal and go beyond them without losing what is essential and good about herself. She struggles to break free from the traps set for her. To find something different.

"Take away one sense and others are heightened."

I love Egoyan films for their depth, surprising twists, and explorations of intriguing themes (passion, wrongful judgments, abuse, attempts to find a way forward after wrongs are done, love, perspectives different from my own, and more). In following a woman adrift after abuse, Seven Veils continues in the typical Egoyan veins. It is set in the Canadian Opera Company building a few blocks away from where I watched the film's world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. While Egoyan spent too much time inside the theater for my taste, I understand why it was done. Egoyan directed the opera company's real life production of Salome and molded much of it into Seven Veils. Even some of the actors in the actual opera are also in the film.

Jeanine is skillfully brought to life by Amanda Seyfried. Off topic - why did Seyfried have surgery? Not that she looks bad now, but she looks so much better in Egoyan's previous film, Chloe. (long sigh)

As I think about Seven Veils I like it more. Moving beyond the trauma of abuse is a fascinating subject. Someone who said they loved me hurt me very much. It is a struggle sometimes to see that I am worthy of love. In Jeanine's battles I see my own.