Saturday, June 19, 2021

Miranda Veil (2020) Movie Review © 2021 Dan's Movie Report – Danny Templegod

 

Above Image: Poster for 'Miranda Veil' from IMDB, all rights reserved to original copyright holders, image used for promotional purposes only not monetized. Lionsgate Releasing

Greetings valued Dan's Movie Report readers. Across my desk today thanks to Mr. Williamson comes a movie entitled 'Miranda Veil' I always like watching indie movies. If at all possible it is often best for me to view films without watching any trailer or even reading anything about them, usually that is hard but, in this case I did. I was working on judging films for the IDTV Action Fest, and I decided to go all in and watch, literally as soon as the link was sent over! I must say, the film is surprisingly complex, many layers of allegory, wrapped in an enigma, people mirroring the lives of animals, one can only imagine the life you would lead if you could not die. 'Miranda Veil' explores the nuances of life and death.


It may seem intrinsically simple, a serial killer movie where a man hears voices in his head. In 'Miranda Veil he cannot act upon them, because he cannot find the right girl. The first girl is taken back to this ramshackle building, yet he cannot go through with the final act. Zach Steffey (Soren) is a tortured soul, conflicted, yet seemingly a horrible person in waiting. He soon meets up with Annabel Barrett (Miranda Veil) first by seeing her drunk then running into her again the next day. I refuse to spoil the content, let us just say that Barrett and Steffey put on a master class in acting, angst, anger, joy, and horrified emotions.


Miranda's parents, expertly played by Vida Ghaffari as Alice Veil and Kelton Jones as Daniel Veil, are trying to have normal lives, yet something is off, again no spoilers, but it gets pretty crazy! This is one area I kind of wish was explored more in the movie, more of Miranda's home life.


Director/Writer Levin Garbisch has a very detailed and creative script, and watching this movie makes me think that he had to direct it, as the script had so many nuanced dialogue and placement of the people involved. Garbish did something also amazing, while on the road, Miranda Veil and Soren meet up with several characters, each representing an animal you would find. Upon second viewing, yes it takes two full watching, the characters could all represent aspects of human life, but wrapped in human form, One man they meet is dressed in a bunny suit, he describes his story. I will not spoil it but one of the more interesting ones was Irena Violette as (The Cat) she is found perched on top of a dumpster, her movements were quite intriguing. Dean Satriano as (The Fox) was like a hippy guy, yet had a very odd vibe. Garbish to his credit never gets sidetracked in the 104 minute movie, the movie is a bit longer than many slasher films, but things are not what they seem! All of his actors are well coached and very much engaged in the dialogue.


Aesthetically the movie is solid, of course the film is independent, yet camera work is clear, many shots are during the daylight hours, and the simplistic, yet effective settings work wonders in a film like this allowing the viewer to take in the dialogue and performances. Musical score is very good, as is the ADR and Foley. Respect on this! Hard work getting these types of films to look and sound amazing.


Minor gripes as I said before, I wanted more time spent with Miranda's parents. I will not spoil the ending, but to be honest, it was something I did not expect, not that it is bad at all, yet I guess I really thought it was going to end different, but upon second watching, and thinking, 'Miranda Veil' can only end two possible ways. Again, no spoilers!


'Miranda Veil' is an innovative, and unusual story, with top notch acting, minor issues aside, the film rates a very strong 8 out of 10, a must watch! Support indie! Hopefully the creative people involved will level up due to the popularity of this on the streaming services!. 'Miranda Veil is available all over the World!


Amazon link: https://www.amazon.com/Miranda-Veil-Annabel-Barrett/dp/B096C92N3N


Check also Itunes and various other services, for additional links.


Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MirandaVeilthemovie

IMDB: https://www.facebook.com/MirandaVeilthemovie


Hopefully later in 2021 I can do an interview with director Levin Garbish, want to get his thoughts on the film. Also I would like Annabel Barrett to discus her thoughts on her character. For Vida, as always she is amazing and creative, we will do an interview, I know long overdue, great work in a motherly role!

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