Drama

Seven Veils

XYZ Films

Elevation Pictures

Rhombus Media

Ego Film Arts

IPR.VC

Cinetic Media

Crave

Canadian Opera Company

Canada

United States of America

Finland

English

Amanda Seyfried

Rebecca Liddiard

Douglas Smith

Mark O'Brien

Vinessa Antoine

Ambur Braid

Michael Kupfer-Radecky

Tara Nicodemo

Maia Jae

Lynne Griffin

Lanette Ware

Maya Misaljevic

Joey Klein

Aliya Kanani

Siobhan Richardson

Michael Schade

Karita Mattila

Ryan McDonald

Alex Halliday

Jorell Williams

Elizabeth Reeve

Miyeko Ferguson

Owen McCausland

Michael Colvin

Jacques Arsenault

Adam Luther

Giles Tomkins

Alex Hetherington

Carolyn Sproule

Vartan Gabrielian

Scott Conner

Frédéric Antoun

Kevin Krikst

Atom Egoyan

Aram Tertzakian

Simone Urdl

John Sloss

Nate Bolotin

Fraser Ash

Nick Spicer

Niv Fichman

Maxime Cottray

Paul Sarossy

Mychael Danna

Trevor Goulet

David Wharnsby

Jason Knight

John Buchan

Nathan Rival

Diane Mazur

Debra Hanson

Phillip Barker

Adriana Bogaard

Daniel J. Murphy

Steve Munro

Matt Hansen

Alicia Turner

Jason Greenslade

Ciarán Copelin

Bob Davidson

Mark Manchester

Darcy Arthurs

Justin Stephenson

Tori Binns

Daniel Pellerin

Jesse Fellows

Noah Segal

Adrian Love

Marcy Gerstein

Steve Solomos

Sarah Polley

Karl Irvine

Douglas Koch

Andreas Evdemon

Mark McGann

Stephanie Chalmers

James Herd

Liz Rowe

Yasmeen Jalali

Emma Goegan

Steve Hammond

Brent Marchant

Author/poet/playwright Oscar Wilde is widely renowned for his observation that “Life imitates art” (or, more precisely, as the full quote maintains, that “Life imitates art far more often than art imitates life”). But is that statement indeed true? In many ways, it seems that both propositions are just about equally valid these days. And that’s a pervasive theme – from both perspectives – that runs through the latest feature from writer-director Atom Egoyan. The film tells the story of a theatrical director (Amanda Seyfried) who takes on the challenge of mounting a new production of the Richard Strauss opera Salome (a work ironically based on an Oscar Wilde play of the same name), a revival based on a previous version staged by her former mentor and now-deceased unrequited love. The opera, in turn, serves up a musical interpretation of the Biblical tale of prophet John the Baptist (Michael Kupfer-Radecky) and Judean Princess Salome (Ambur Braid), perhaps best known for her erotically charged “Dance of the Seven Veils” and who asks her stepfather, King Herod (Michael Schade), to present her with the holy man’s head on a silver platter when he spurns her romantic advances. Ironically, the director’s personal story uncannily parallels that of the operatic subject matter she’s now in the process of staging, presenting her, as well as many other members of her cast and production team, with an opportunity to examine themselves, their circumstances and the ghosts of their long-ignored pasts. In a sense, this scenario thus provides all concerned with a chance to work through their respective long-unresolved (and often-interrelated) issues, a de facto form of art therapy not unlike that explored in films like “Black Swan” (2010). Unfortunately, the narrative is overloaded with story threads and at times becomes a little too intricate and cumbersome for its own good. What’s more, after a while, the myriad connections linking these various subplots start to seem a tad convenient and contrived to be believable, regardless of how interesting they may each be in and of themselves. This tends to bog down the flow of the picture, which is unfortunate in light of the film’s promising premise, intriguing production design, and fine performances by its ensemble cast, particularly Seyfried and Rebecca Liddiard as the production’s property master. In all truthfulness, none of this is meant to suggest that this is an awful film; indeed, “Seven Veils” genuinely borders on being a truly engaging, memorable, well-crafted work. However, with so much going on, it tries to cover too much ground, which, if it had been judiciously pared down, could have made for an outstanding release. As it stands now, though, this is a case of an ambitious filmmaker not quite knowing when to quit trying so hard and not realizing that sometimes there’s no need to go overboard in trying to impress viewers.

Amanda Seyfried & Atom Egoyan: “Why can’t every movie be like SEVEN VEILS?”

Interview with Atom Egoyan and Amanda Seyfried

Official Trailer

US Trailer

TIFF 2023 Q&A with Atom Egoyan

Best Movies

Seven Veils

Cast & Crew

Videos

Cast

Amanda Seyfried

Rebecca Liddiard

Douglas Smith

Mark O'Brien

Vinessa Antoine

Ambur Braid

Michael Kupfer-Radecky

Tara Nicodemo

Maia Jae

Lynne Griffin

Box office

More Like This

Tkaronto

I'll Follow You Down

Owning Mahowny

Only Cloud Knows

Bollywood/Hollywood

I Used to Be Funny

Chloe

Pleasure Palace