The Veil Review: A So-So Thriller But with an Exceptional Elisabeth Moss
Cast: Elisabeth Moss, Yumna Marwan, Dali Benssalah, Josh Charles, Thibault de Montalembert
Created By: Steven Knight
Streaming Platform: FX Networks and Hulu
Filmyhype.com Ratings: 3/5 (three stars)
A 6-episode miniseries available on Hulu, The Veil is a series that promises a lot with its intriguing spy premise, but which finds its real strength in the two protagonists and in the complex relationship that develops between them. The plot follows Imogen (played by a wonderful Elisabeth Moss), an MI6 agent tasked with capturing Adilah (Yumna Marwan), a suspected leader of ISIS, and escorting her to Paris. As her journey leads them to confront their past and beliefs, a fascinating dynamic full of emotional tension emerges. However, the spy element of the series is lame, with a predictable plot and some forced twists, which fail to keep the tension consistently high.
Elisabeth in The Veil plays the role of a quick-change artist, an English spy with a mysterious past capable of changing her identity depending on who she faces. Her real name is Violet but very few people know it because her accent, as well as her personal history, are interchangeable depending on needs. Embroiled in a very delicate government mission, Violet finds herself facing a journey together with one of the worst criminals in the world with whom she will establish a very particular and fascinating relationship based on lies but also unexpected mutual respect. Who is the real villain and who is the innocent in this intricate spy thriller? It’s not that obvious and it’s up to you to find out. In the meantime, here is our opinion on the series. Consisting of 6 episodes, this thriller miniseries, written by the same screenwriter as Peaky Blinders, Steven Knight, is a mix of action, introspection, and a pinch of romance but, if we have to be honest, we found this title unfortunately not up to its leading actress who shines with her acting skills but isn’t able to make everything else shine too.
The Veil Review: The Story Plot
The incipit of The Veil takes us to a refugee camp in the mountains on the border between Syria and Turkey. One of the camp’s guests, Adilah El Idrissi (Yumna Marwan), is identified by some of the refugees as one of the leaders of ISIS, codenamed Djinn Al Raqqa. French intelligence, having learned of the news, entrusts Imogen (Elisabeth Moss), an MI6 operative specializing in undercover missions, with the task of recovering her suspect, and then escorting her to Paris. She, the agent, will have to rely on all her manipulation and deception skills to gain the trust of the alleged terrorist, to extract valuable information from her about an imminent attack, expected in just over a week. During the trip, the two women appear to become increasingly intimate. But who is really using the other one?
This time Steven Knight deals with a different type of spy story (the British screenwriter had written Allied by Robert Zemeckis, a spy film set during the Second World War full of romance) approaching the complex, but credible, intrigues of novels by John le Carré. Works in which the figure of the secret agent is stripped of much of its charm and placed in a plausible context, far from the exotic and astonishing adventures of James Bond (the style of Le Carré, who really served His Majesty in the SIS, was often contrasted with the more imaginative work of Ian Fleming). The Veil takes up this approach by placing at the center a character completely dedicated to her work, intent on moving from one identity to another (Imogen is not even her real name, but the one given to her for this mission), perhaps also as a way of burying a terrible trauma from the past.
The Veil Review and Analysis
The Veil explores the intricate dynamics between Imogen and Adilah, two women seemingly on opposite sides but united in reality by the same goal: to survive in a ruthless world, where morality is more than ever ambiguous and the distinction between friends and enemies appears blurred. What begins as a mission to thwart a terrorist attack soon turns into a journey full of emotional tension: as the plot unfolds between dangerous escapes and secret missions, the series highlights the growing bond between the two protagonists, a complex relationship, based on a precarious balance of trust and suspicion, which soon becomes the beating heart of the narrative. And, despite this tug of war between the two, both will soon realize that they are pawns in a much bigger game, in which they must on the one hand protect each other and, on the other, understand the other’s real intentions. Intentions that the public also discovers little by little: the strategically placed clues gradually shed light on the past lives of Adilah and Imogen, maintaining high interest and, at the same time, reminding us that in life there is not only black and white, black, but often our choices arise from gray areas.
Elisabeth Moss is simply perfect in the role of Imogen: armed with a decidedly credible English accent, the actress manages to give her character extraordinary depth, making her one of the most memorable elements of the series. Imogen is an MI6 agent, a skilled and calculating professional, but also a character imbued with humanity; In the rare quiet moments, when she is alone with her thoughts, shadows of her true self and fragments of her past emerge. This contrast between her professional coldness and her personal vulnerability is masterfully rendered by Moss, who manages to ensure that Imogen never appears robotic or insensitive, despite her traumatic experiences and her ruthless profession. If the protagonists and their complex relationship represent the show’s strong point, it is the spy element that limps a bit. The plot can often seem predictable, with twists that appear forced and lack the originality necessary to keep the tension high.
The secondary characters, while skillfully played, often do not add significant value to the main narrative and seem to be inserted only to increase tension without any real development. Furthermore, the representation of the power dynamics between the various secret services is confusing, leaving viewers disoriented and making it difficult to follow the complexity of the intrigues. All aspects end up undermining the effectiveness of the story, making it less compelling than the intense personal dynamics between the protagonists. But The Veil also takes elements from the buddy movie, naturally never abandoning the deeply dramatic tones of its story in favor of the lighter and more ironic derivatives of the genre. A trip from Istanbul to Paris during which the two women will have the opportunity to get to know each other more and more deeply, even establishing a deep bond. A bond that is the result, however, of a dialectical exchange, especially at the beginning, which is often hostile, in which a game of deception is also carried out aimed at deceiving and manipulating the potential enemy.
A confrontation between two masters of deception, and two devious shape-shifting djinns (the figure of these supernatural creatures of Islamic tradition is often evoked throughout the series). The buddy movie dynamic is also resumed in the interactions between the French agent Malik Amar (Dali Benssalah) and the American agent Max Peterson (Josh Charles), always ready to tease each other with stereotypes, while they follow closely, for the two respective governments, carrying out the delicate undercover operation. The Veil stages the story of two women called to survive in a violent world, dominated by unscrupulous men, where their moral compass has been lost, so much so that the distinction between enemies and allies is difficult. A context in which it is easy to lose yourself and everything really important (like the affection of your daughter). Although the miniseries manages to offer some successful moments, especially thanks to its two main performers, the overall result fails to completely convince.
The blame falls on a spy intrigue that is too canonical and never really interesting. The impression is that of a subdued copy of Le Carré’s spy story, making us regret the excellent BBC serial productions based on her novels (The Night Manager, The Little Drummer Girl). The Veil is, in fact, a story that is, in some places, extremely slow, difficult to use, and a little too chaotic due to a plot that is not exactly linear and a cluster of characters that are not all well characterized and introduced properly. The alternation of action and reflection, of speed and slowness is interesting, as is the representation of the main character of the story, the one played by Elisabeth Moss, who throughout the episodes reveals herself and breaks down, showing all her essence to the public, for the good and in the bad. After all, there is nothing more beautiful than not being afraid to show the truth on the screen even if it is “ugly” or uncomfortable, and in this, it must be said that the series succeeds perfectly.
The Veil Review: The Last Words
Overall, though, The Veil is certainly not an unforgettable thriller. It’s a shame because a champion like Elisabeth Moss would have deserved a slightly better script to express her talent. But for that, we’ll just have to wait for the finale of The Handmaid’s Tale. Starring and produced by Elisabeth Moss, the miniseries The Veil sets up a spy intrigue built entirely around its star, and deus ex machina, and her co-star (the equally good Lebanese actress Yumna Marwan). Steven Knight, already the creator of the beautiful Peaky Blinders, here refers to the spy stories of the author John Le Carré. A more realistic and credible type of spy story, almost completely stripped of the exotic charm of James Bond’s adventures. But The Veil also takes inspiration from the buddy movie genre, focusing on the often-hostile dialectical exchange between its two protagonists. If the result manages to provide some successful moments, especially thanks to the performances of the two actresses, for the rest it leaves with the general impression of a faded copy of Le Carré’s stories, with a spy plot that is too canonical and never really interesting.
