Seven Veils (2025)

March 7, 2025 (CA) • Drama • 107m

Overview

Jeanine, an earnest theatre director, 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, she allows her repressed trauma to color the present as she re-enters the opera world after so many years away.

Director

Atom Egoyan

Writer

Atom Egoyan

Top Billed

Amanda Seyfried

Keywords

infidelity opera toronto, canada trauma theater director open relationship psychological breakdown

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Top Billed Cast

Amanda Seyfried

Jeanine

Rebecca Liddiard

Clea

Douglas Smith

Luke

Mark O'Brien

Paul

Vinessa Antoine

Rachel

Ambur Braid

Ambur/Salome

Michael Kupfer-Radecky

Johan/John the Baptist

Tara Nicodemo

Nancy

Maia Jae

Dimitra

Lynne Griffin

Margot

Lanette Ware

Beatrice

Maya Misaljevic

Lizzie

Joey Klein

Charlie

Aliya Kanani

Kathy

Siobhan Richardson

Opera Company Intimacy Coordinator

Michael Schade

Herod

Karita Mattila

Herodias

Ryan McDonald

Harold

Alex Halliday

Cappadocian

Michael Schade

Herod

Jorell Williams

Second Nazarene

Elizabeth Reeve

Young Jeanine

Miyeko Ferguson

Shadow Dancer / Salome

Owen McCausland

First Man in Forest

Michael Colvin

Second Man in Forest

Jacques Arsenault

Third Man in Forest

Adam Luther

Fourth Man in Forest

Giles Tomkins

Fifth Man in Forest

Alex Hetherington

An Attendant

Carolyn Sproule

The Page

Vartan Gabrielian

First Soldier

Scott Conner

Second Soldier

Frédéric Antoun

Narraboth

Crew

Atom Egoyan

Director

Atom Egoyan

Producer

Niv Fichman

Producer

Simone Urdl

Producer

Fraser Ash

Producer

Kevin Krikst

Producer

Aram Tertzakian

Executive Producer

Nate Bolotin

Executive Producer

Maxime Cottray

Executive Producer

Nick Spicer

Executive Producer

John Sloss

Executive Producer

David Wharnsby

Editor

Paul Sarossy

Director of Photography

Mychael Danna

Original Music Composer

John Buchan

Casting

Jason Knight

Casting

Debra Hanson

Costume Design

Diane Mazur

Makeup Department Head

Nathan Rival

Hair Department Head

Trevor Goulet

Sound Mixer

Phillip Barker

Production Design

Adriana Bogaard

Art Direction

Daniel J. Murphy

First Assistant Director

Steve Munro

Sound Designer

Matt Hansen

Visual Effects Supervisor

Alicia Turner

Stunt Coordinator

Jason Greenslade

"A" Camera Operator

Jason Greenslade

Dolly Grip

Ciarán Copelin

First Assistant "A" Camera

Bob Davidson

Gaffer

Mark Manchester

Key Grip

Darcy Arthurs

Visual Effects Producer

Justin Stephenson

Title Designer

Tori Binns

Key Hair Stylist

Daniel Pellerin

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Jesse Fellows

Sound Re-Recording Mixer

Noah Segal

Executive Producer

Adrian Love

Executive Producer

Daniel J. Murphy

Associate Producer

Marcy Gerstein

Associate Producer

Steve Solomos

Supervising Producer

Sarah Polley

Thanks

Karl Irvine

Second Assistant Director

Douglas Koch

Additional Photography

Andreas Evdemon

Camera Operator

Mark McGann

Set Decoration

Stephanie Chalmers

Set Decoration Buyer

James Herd

Set Dresser

Liz Rowe

Key Makeup Artist

Yasmeen Jalali

Makeup Department Head

Emma Goegan

Casting Associate

Steve Hammond

Foley Artist

Atom Egoyan

Screenplay

Reviews

Brent Marchant

⭐ 6/10

April 30, 2025

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.

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Seven Veils (2025)

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Crew

Reviews

Brent Marchant

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