There are movies that we watch purely for entertainment, whether we’re interested in it’s plot, a specific actor it’s featuring, or even those who are die-hard fans of the studio that releases it (*cough* A24 fans.) Then there are the other types of films that you don’t really want to watch for fun per se, but you need to learn about the subject matter it covers, and aren’t really feeling reading a book. You know, the types of movies that eventually will end up being thrown on by your high school teacher when they need to have an easier day, but still need to keep vaguely close to their curriculum. I will fully admit, I don’t often choose to watch these types of movies on my own volition. At the same time, I’ve always been thankful for their existence, as it sure beats doing actual work in class, and I still like to learn despite my lazy nature.
Sometimes, these movies give better teaching moments than formal education itself. For example, when learning about the Miranda rights in high school, only the Supreme Court trial that led up to the law being put into place was covered in my textbooks. However, upon watching the film Miranda’s Victim, directed by Michelle Danner I learned it was a much more delicate case than we were taught in school. In 1963, a young woman named Trish Weir (Abigail Breslin) was kidnapped and sexually assaulted. Despite societal pressure to stay silent, she pursued justice, and eventually Ernesto Miranda (Sebastian Quinn), her assailant, was arrested and found guilty of the crime. However, his conviction became overturned when he appealed that his confession was coerced from him and he was not informed of his right to legal counsel.
I can at least say that if the facts presented in this film are anywhere close to accurate, I know far more about the events surrounding the Miranda rights than I have before. On top of that, thanks to the film’s talented cast, I have far more emotional investment in this subject. Abigail Breslin did a wonderful job in carrying the film as Trish, as she was able to convey a timid girl who bravely fought for justice, as well as to protect other women from her assailant. MCU veteran Emily VanCamp makes a strong impression as Trish’s sister Ann, who was one of the few who stood by her side throughout the case. Sebastian Quinn made some very interesting acting choices as Miranda himself portraying the violent criminal as cold and practically flippant about his crimes. I actually really like Quinn’s choice to portray Miranda as that type of sociopath, as it involves a lot of restraint to give that aborant of a person a complete lack of personal guilt.
As informative and well acted as this film was, Miranda’s Victim wasn’t exactly perfect. While early on, it seems established that this film was telling Trish’s story, much of the focus seems to shift to Miranda (who as I earlier mentioned is an unsympathetic sociopath), and even the lawyers on both sides working on this case. Although I certainly appreciate how informative this approach was, from a purely artistic standpoint, it stumbles in terms of editing and narrative focus. For example, the ending scene with Miranda just didn’t feel like it belonged in the same movie I was watching previously, almost as if it was added as a last minute afterthought. Also, as much as I appreciate how serious the approach to the subject matter of Trish’s assault was handled, I personally felt that a few too many flashbacks of the incident were included, making it seem more like a made for television melodrama.
At the end of the day I’m always glad for the existence of films such as Miranda’s Victim. While it lacked the right amount of polish to give it a place among the greatest of courtroom case movies, I still left much more informed than I was before about the origins of an extremely important U.S. law.
