R | 2h 7m | Drama, Crime, History | Oct. 6, 2023
Watch any police or legal drama (TV or film) produced since the late 1960s and the chances are pretty good you’ll catch someone reading the “Miranda rights” (or “Miranda’s warning”) to a crime suspect. You’ll recognize it immediately. It has just six sentences and starts with: “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law.”
The new drama “Miranda’s Victim” explains how this legal formality came to be and its importance and indispensability to the workings of the U.S. legal system. As a procedural, the film is riveting and thorough; however, several parts of the actual execution are a bit wanting.
The Supreme Court Weighs In
Miranda was then tried, convicted, and sentenced to 20 to 30 years. His attorney, Alvin Moore (Andy Garcia), appealed the decision to the Arizona Supreme Court, which denied the appeal. In 1965, the American Civil Liberties Union, via attorney John J. Flynn (Ryan Phillippe), appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled in Miranda’s favor. The Supreme Court found that Miranda was denied proper access to an attorney during questioning, and thus his confession was inadmissible as evidence—and this is the point where the whole thing got sticky.The Supreme Court didn’t dismiss the charges against Miranda, and instead ordered that he be retried in Arizona without the confession as part of the state’s evidence.
What Will People Think?
Trish’s older sister Ann (Emily VanCamp) is a supportive and unwavering rock. However, her mother, Zeola (Mireille Enos), is mostly concerned with what people will think and the likelihood that the pursuit of any legal action will go nowhere.
From the story and narrative perspectives, Ms. Danner and screenwriter J. Craig Stiles were afforded great levels of source material to work with. Where a minimalist approach would have worked best, they chose the opposite. Far too often the tone slips into melodramatic overdrive with frequent performance histrionics to match, particularly from Mr. Phillippe and Ms. Enos.
Zeola is equal parts wet blanket and attorney for the defense, and not all that far removed from Piper Laurie’s portrayal of the title character’s fire and brimstone, doom-and-gloom mother in “Carrie.” Zeola all but orders Trish to put the assault behind her and get on with her life, and Zeola has a point, twisted as it may be. During the closing credits, it is stated that for every 1,000 cases of assault brought to trial, only five result in conviction.
Career Boost
The role of Trish couldn’t have come along at a better time for Ms. Breslin, whose transition from juvenile to adult actress has been, at best, inconsistent.After breaking out of the gate in the 2000s with “Signs” and “Little Miss Sunshine,” Ms. Breslin’s career floundered and has only enjoyed critical and commercial success with the “Zombieland” franchise. Although it’s unlikely that “Miranda’s Victim” will light it up at the box office, Ms. Breslin’s rock-solid performance should catch the attention of filmmakers who would have otherwise written her off.
While some may consider the “Miranda rights” to be favorable to would-be criminals, it is absolutely essential to our modern legal system and, in the opinion of some, is as important as the Fifth Amendment of the Constitution.
Exactly what happened to Ernesto Miranda after the trials is best left to the final minutes of the film, where karma and street justice show up to collect.
