MOVIE OF THE WEEK October 6, 2023: MIRANDA’S VICTIM
We’ve all heard the opening of the Miranda warning a million times in movies and on TV cop dramas: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law,” etc. And those rights are an essential part of the American criminal justice system. But the story behind them is a fraught one, as director Michelle Danner makes very clear in the earnest drama Miranda’s Victim.
The film tells the story of Trish Weir (Abigail Breslin), a young Arizona woman who’s attacked, abducted, and raped on her way home from work one night in the early 1960s. Shamed and doubted by her own mother (Mireille Enos), Trish is traumatized by her experience — and terrified when the police ask her to help them identify a possible suspect. But help she does, and Ernesto Miranda (Sebastian Quinn) is tried, convicted, and sent to jail. His attorney, Alvin Moore (Andy Garcia), is determined to appeal, convinced that Ernie’s due process rights were violated and that he was coerced into signing the confession that was key to his conviction.
When Moore has to step aside for personal reasons, the ACLU sends in sought-after criminal defense lawyer John Flynn (Ryan Phillippe), who takes the Miranda case all the way to the Supreme Court — and, in a win for protecting individuals from the system, gets Ernie’s conviction invalidated. All of this is a matter of public record, and there’s no question that the Miranda warning serves a valuable societal purpose. But Ernesto Miranda wasn’t innocent. And what was not known until recently was that Trish, whose name was kept out of the papers by the Arizona court, had to relive her trauma when Miranda was retried for his crimes, bravely speaking out even though she was strongly discouraged by both her mother and her husband.
By centering the film on Trish and her experiences, Danner asks viewers to reconsider their assumptions about the story behind this arrest-scene staple. And Breslin turns in a powerful performance as a woman who faces victim-blaming at virtually every turn but finds the inner strength to stand up for herself and others like her. Yes, Miranda’s case exposed flaws in the system that needed to be corrected, and he was guilty of kidnapping and rape and needed to face the consequences for his crimes. — Betsy Bozdech
Team #MOTW’s comments:
Nell Minow: There are no clear or easy cases before the Supreme Court, and very few that become household names. But anyone who has ever watched a crime show on television knows the Miranda decision means that anyone who is arrested is informed about the right to counsel and the right to remain silent. This film shows us that Ernest Miranda was a rapist whose conviction was overturned because he signed a confession without being advised of his rights. But it also shows us the young woman he raped, and the agony she experienced as she had to tell her story again and again. “Don’t make him the face of your crusade,” her lawyer says to his. But lawyers who bring landmark cases about Constitutional rights rarely find plaintiffs who are respectable, law-abiding members of society. Miranda’s Victim does its best to be fair to all sides.
Leslie Combemale Abigail Breslin brings dignity and sensitivity to her portrayal of Trish Weir, whose courage saved future victims from a serial rapist and violent offender, at a time when only a fraction of women came forward, and offenders were often able to continue their crimes unhindered, until fate stepped in. The track record for prosecution in cases of rape is still awful in this country, but Weir’s fearlessness did have a powerful impact. Miranda’s Victim lays out the challenges for victims of assault, while allowing strong performances by all members of the cast.
Jennifer Merin Miranda’s Victim is a very informative and impactful truth-based drama about how the criminal justice requirement known as ‘Miranda’s Rights’ resulted from an actual criminal prosecution and trial in which a clearly guilty rapist at first eluded conviction and punishment because of procedural ‘flaws’ in his arrest, which clearly devastated the victim of his violent crime. The film dramatizes how — through her bravery and persistence — the case was reopened for re-trial and justice was served. Abigail Breslin is superb as Trish Weir, the rape victim who refused to give up and go quietly into unabated life-long panic and depression. This is a story that should be told and one that is told very well by director Michelle Danner in Miranda’s Victim.
Loren King The title Miranda’s Victim may sound like a Lifetime movie and even though director Michelle Danner’s handling of the story is a bit melodramatic at times, it delivers a moving account of what will be for many an unfamiliar chapter in history. True Crime aficionados may know about the famous 1963 Miranda ruling (“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in court.”) But how many know the backstory of Miranda’s conviction for the kidnapping and brutal rape of young Trish Weir (played by Abigail Breslin) in Phoenix, Ariz.? The film, structured as a court procedural, is most powerful for showing what it was like, socially and legally, for a woman to charge an assailant with rape in the early 1960s. The film is important history for reminding us how much and how little things have changed.
Sandie Angulo Chen: While most Americans who watch police or legal procedurals or took government and politics in high school might know what Miranda rights are as they relate to arrest and self-incrimination, not nearly enough people know the story of the crime Miranda committed, and even fewer about the titular Miranda’s Victim. This docudrama, directed by Michelle Danner and featuring an all-star cast, is a powerful chronicle of the rape and kidnapping survivor who continued her quest for justice even after her attacker’s conviction was overturned by the seminal Supreme Court case.
Nikki Fowler: Miranda’s Victim is a riveting drama about the real-life rape victim Trish Weir, played by the wonderfully talented Abigail Breslin, who gives an inspiring performance of a woman suffering through waves of sexism at a time in the 60’s when most women stayed silent on abuse, and most men saw rape victims as a disgrace or as fabricators. Read full review.
Liz Whittemore Director Michelle Danner brings audiences the story of the emotionally wrought 1963 court case that led to the institution of Miranda Rights. Told through the eyes of the brave young woman Trish Weir, Miranda’s Victim is a harrowing story of the flawed justice system and a reclamation of power. Read full review.
Cate Marquis We all know about Miranda Rights, that list of civil rights police must read to people being arrested, but while the requirement that police ensure people know their rights has helped prevent disadvantaged, innocent people from being pressured or tricked into signing confessions to crimes they did not commit, the man whose name is associated with that list of rights was far from innocent himself. In fact, he was a rapist clearly guilty of attacking a shy 18-year-old girl, and director Michelle Danner’s Miranda’s Victim tells that other side of the Miranda story. In Danner’s truth-based drama, a determined young woman, played by Abigail Breslin, bravely fights for justice, despite living in a highly-sexist era that pressured women not to speak up when assaulted and the landmark civil liberties case that overturned the conviction.s Miranda’s Victim is an eye-opening experience revealing this untold story and a reminder, still, of the importance of listening and believing to women.
FILM DETAILS:
Title: Miranda’s Victim
Director: Michelle Danner
Release Date: October 6. 2023
Running Time: 127 minutes
Language: English
Screenwriters: George Kolber, Richard Lasser, J. Craig Stiles
Distribution Company: Vertical Entertainment
AWFJ Movie of the Week Panel Members: Sandie Angulo Chen, Betsy Bozdech, Leslie Combemale, Nikki Fowler, Pam Grady, Loren King, Cate Marquis, Jennifer Merin, Nell Minow, Sherin Nicole, Liz Whittemore
Other Movies Opening This Week
Edited by Jennifer Merin
