The Veil Review: Elisabeth Moss' Outstanding Performance Keeps You Hooked Despite the Uneven Writing

The Veil Review: There is no denying that Elisabeth Moss is an outstanding actress. Year after year, she has been picking up unique roles delivering interesting series. While we all know her for the famous Mad Men and The Handmaid’s Tale, in 2022, she impressed everyone with the thriller Shining Girls. The British-American actress returns with yet another thriller, titled The Veil. However, the uneven writing feels like a blow to her performance.

Set against the turbulent areas of Syria, Turkey, and Paris, The Veil revolves around two women — Imogen (Elisabeth Moss) and Adilah (Yumna Marwan). Imogen is a veteran MI6 agent with her ways of getting to the truth. Extremely smart, she fits into any situation like a chameleon. She is assigned a task of abducting a woman from a refugee camp on the borders of Syria. The woman is identified as Adilah, who is under the military custody at the camp and is said to be a probable threat to the world. However, when Imogen and Adilah cross paths, viewers along with Imogen are placed on a see-saw, constantly debating if they can trust what meets the eye.

As the episodes unfold, The Veil slowly uncovers Imogen and Adilah’s realities and draws the viewers into a cobweb of their complexities. The concept of The Veil is interesting. It puts two women in the spotlight, both whom cannot trust the other. Despite their shortcomings, they harbour a friendship that keeps the viewers on the edge. The dynamics shown between Elisabeth and Yumna in the show are refreshing. However, writer Steven Knight couldn’t flesh it out well.

The first four episodes are unevenly paced and the subplots are half-baked that the concept gets a little lost in the highway. The screenplay also features uneven twists and turns, and scenes that lack depth. Of the four, the second episode stood out for me because it was short and crisp and you are invested in the ladies. The series also takes four episodes to come to the point, which could affect the viewers’ attention span and interest.

Although the storytelling part of the writing did not live up to the expectations, writer Steven Knight incorporates metaphors through the Islamic folklore, especially Djinns, which puts the rich history of the regions it is set in on display.

While the screenplay fell short, the performances made up for it. Elisabeth is outstanding. There is already a massive character arc that you can see being formed. She also brings in her dry Brit humour in places that balance out the intense scenes. Given that the first four episodes went in story building, I am keen to see how much action is in store for Elisabeth.

The actress is wonderfully complemented by Yumna Marwan. The Lebanese actress is like a Ying to Elisabeth’s hyper energy Yang. She is subtle yet powerful in terms of her screen presence. The duo also shares an interesting bond but, I hate to break it to you, this is not another Killing Eve. I began missing Killing Eve midway through the series while I watched Elisabeth and Yumna join forces. The spark and the sizzle that Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh had on the show was visibly missing here.

Meanwhile, Dali Benssalah as Malik, a French agent who is supporting Elisabeth’s Imogen, also leaves a lasting impact.

Visually, director Daina Reid explores the rocky regions of the Syria and Turkey borders so beautifully in the first three episodes. In the fourth episode, Damon Thomas shows a different Paris, the one that is not romanticised and is dark which amped up the theme of the episode.

Bottom Line: Should you watch the show? The Veil serves as a fun watch mainly due to Elisabeth Moss.

The first two episodes of the series will be released on Disney+ Hotstar in India on April 30. After that, a new episode will drop every Tuesday.