Seven Veils

莎乐美的七重纱

Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score : -

Opening : 03 Apr 2025

Runtime : 110 mins

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DIGITAL

Rating	NC16 Sexual References
Language	English- subtitles to be advised
Genre	Drama
Director	Atom Egoyan
Cast	Amanda Seyfried, Rebecca Liddiard, Douglas Smith, Mark O'Brien, Vinessa Antoine, Ambur Braid, Michael Kupfer-Radecky
Synopsis	Earnest theatre director Jeanine (Amanda Seyfried) has been given the task of remounting her former mentor’s most famous work, the opera "Salome". Haunted by dark and disturbing memories from her past, Jeanine allows her repressed trauma to color the present as she re-enters the opera world after so many years away.

REVIEWS

By InCinemas 03 Apr 2025

A confounding piece of layered art imitating life featuring a stellar performance from Amanda Seyfried.

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Seven Veils tells the story of theatre director Jeanine, who is dealing with repressed trauma as she prepares to remount a production of the opera Salome. Her troubled past and deep connection with the original production is interwovenly included in haunting flashbacks. Written and directed by Atom Egoyan, the psychological drama stars Amanda Seyfried as Jeanine, with a supporting cast including Rebecca Liddiard, Douglas Smith, Mark O'Brien and Vinessa Antoine.

Fret not if you’re unfamiliar with Salome because Egoyan does his cinematic audience a service by weaving in the plot of the opera in his dialogues, lest we all get lost and disconnected by the very themes both mediums try to convey. To summarise: Salome is the story of King Herod Antipas’ stepdaughter, whose seductive dance at a dinner compelled the royal to reward her with anything she wants. Salome demands the head John the Baptist, a man she desires so madly that she would have him killed in order to be able to kiss him. Salome’s story was turned into a play by Oscar Wilde which was then adapted as an opera by Richard Strauss. Janine's former mentor and lover Charles who once directed Salome had a dying request for his protégé to direct the remount. We also learn how Charles incorporated Jeanine's own traumatising past with her father (who made questionable home videos of her dancing in the woods, invoking scenes of Salome) in his version of the opera. Here is where Egoyan blends the themes of trauma, desire and power dynamics of Salome into his film.

While the attempt at affiliating the two mediums by shared themes is commendable, it is unfortunate Egoyan never truly dives deep enough for thorough exploration. It’s clear he attempts to give Seven Veils more layers but ultimately fails to answer questions it raises. There’s a subplot involving prop master Clea where she faces sexual assault at work that does little to inform anything further than workplace toxicity and power imbalance. Perhaps it was the way in which it was handled that felt off and maybe telling of Egoyan’s true sentiments on these incidents. (If we’re being honest, Clea’s story could have been a whole independent film of its own.)

A most interesting tidbit of Seven Veils’ production is Egoyan’s ties to Salome–having reworked the opera many times since he first directed it in 1996 for the Canadian Opera Company, with the most recent 2023 revival incorporated into the film in which several of the real-life performers appear as characters in his fictional film.

The selling points of Seven Veils lie in the real production of Salome. It’s actual stage and production lend the perfect backdrop for the film while the use of opera singers Michael Kupfer-Radecky and Ambur Braid gives the fictional staging a more credible feel. But the biggest draw of all is Seyfried’s stellar performance as Jeanine, commanding the screen with her nuanced expressions as her character slowly unravels under pressure.

Seven Veils is a (somewhat) compelling case of art imitating life imitating art. If only it had been given the profound depth it deserved.
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Seven Veils