In 1963, eighteen-year-old Patricia Weir is kidnapped and brutally raped. Committed to putting her attacker, Ernesto Miranda, in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation.
Pam says:
The beginning of so many crime or law shows start with the familiar phrase, “You have the right to remain silent…” but never do we question why the term Miranda Rights came to be…until now. Abigail Breslin stars as Patricia Weir, the 18 year-old rape victim from 1963 who had the courage to stand up to the man who kidnapped and brutally raped her.
The meek, mild and innocent teen walking from the bus stop to home late after working her shift at the local movie theater was attacked at knife point, bound and driven to the desert by Ernesto Miranda (Sebastian Quinn), only to be beaten and raped. Surviving the trauma, we watch as Trish goes through the medical evaluation and police investigation leading to identification of Miranda in a line-up. The trial is equally difficult as the details, previously blurred, are now confronted with devastating clarity.
The judicial system much of the time seems cumbersome and sometimes unjust, but as we witness Trish’s fight to recover and feel safe as well as help prevent more victims, it is evident that the balance of justice teeters on the edge.
“Miranda’s Victim” plunges us back to the ’60’s, a time when women kept quiet, became secretaries, and got married. To do anything else was rebellious as we see from Trish’s mother, Zeola (Mireille Enos) is unspeakable. While these attitudes as well as the technologies vastly differ compared to today, the sentiment and emotional toll sexual assault takes is still the same.
Breslin beautifully portrays the turmoil her character Trish experienced. With Luke Wilson as Trish’s loyal lawyer, Enrique Murciano and Brent Sexton as Officers Cooley and Nealis, Keyle MacLachlan, Emily VanCamp, Taryn Manning, Andy Garcia and Donald Sutherland, you couldn’t ask for a more talented supporting cast. But it is Breslin that carries this film as Director Michelle Danner and the writers enlightens us all about how and why the Miranda rights came to be.
3 Stars
