It’s hard to watch Elisabeth Moss in FX’s new espionage/terrorist thriller, “The Veil,” and not think of the iconic “Mad Men” scene where she discovers her swagger, her power, her cool, her worth, and walks down the hall like this:
Take that picture, make Moss a British agent, and you’ve got the vibe of “The Veil,” which has action, thrills, and twists. Doesn’t sound that bad, really.
Though a younger Moss had previously been in “The West Wing,” after “Mad Men,” Moss busted out — “Top Of the Lake” and “Handmaid’s Tale” being the best of them. But, like a lot of actors, she also careened about, trying on different roles (as one should) in film, television and on the stage, some of if with far less sterling results as the two examples (three counting “Mad Men,” her defining performance) listed above.
And now she’s back in “The Veil,” a miniseries thriller created and written by Steven Knight (“Peaky Blinders”) that stars Moss as an MI6 agent (yes, she had to really work at the British accent) whose latest assignment in her ever-changing chameleon job is to detour herself to a refugee camp on the border of Syria and Turkey, where word has leaked that the most wanted and most notorious female ISIS leader — bit of a stretch there — has been found, outed and is in imminent danger (from all the other women in the camp who want to kill her for murdering their husband, sons and babies).
(I mean, ISIS isn’t really about female empowerment, so the thought of a bunch of holy warriors taking orders from someone with a vagina doesn’t really track, but maybe that’s one of the twists ahead?)
“The Veil” — as you might have guessed from the title — is an identity game, and so the ISIS badass in question (played superbly by Yumna Marwan), says there’s been a huge mistake and she’s really Adilah El Idrissi, a nobody from France who fell in with ISIS as a bad mistake and now just wants to go back to Paris to be with the daughter she abandoned (to be a terrorist).
You will find, over the course of two engaging episodes, that a miniseries based on mind games from two smart, shape-shifting women — who both are possibly not who we think they are — is a compelling enough reason to move forward.
But the savvy among you, having seen “Peaky Blinders” and knowing that Knight puts his characters into impossible situations only to magically (and sometime magisterially) pull them out at the very last second, will probably guess that the next four episodes are going to be a lot harder to pull off than the first two.
That’s a given.
But those first two episodes, which is why we’re doing this Two Episode Test, have just enough elan and potential to truly appeal, especially since they are mostly spent with Moss and Marwan in close quarters, talking and sometimes fighting (others) as the tale unfolds. But at the end of the second episode there’s a sense that the talk-talk trickery of two intriguing women will be superseded by, well, dudes, and then also perhaps some standard lower-Bourne level escapes in beautiful cities (namely, Paris).
Is that enough to bow out?
Probably not. But the red flags are there, even in the first two episodes, which certainly pass this Two Episode Test.
As a viewer you can just sense that the one or three dubious plot twists you’ve just experienced in short order will multiply and become more dubious.
At least I think that. And I’ll bet I’m right.
I guess you can’t keep Moss and Marwan in a car forever. Paris (and who knows, perhaps beyond) is the destination and once there, this female road trip by two supremely talented liars/pretenders/engaging spies and warriors, will come to an end and something more rote is likely to take over.
Again, I only watched these two. The close interplay between two talented actresses and global locations was rewarding enough to want to watch more, but I can’t say my faith is rock solid here.
There are very, very familiar elements to “The Veil” and Knight has a lengthy history of twists (and suspensions of belief) that he loves, so the odds that this thing we’re getting that unique and easy to endorse — a banter-heavy cat and mouse game by two intriguing women — will eventually give way to something a lot more familiar and pat. It certainly looms large here, especially because two testosterone-dripping male characters are lurking in the plot.
But, as always, if it goes sideways later you can always bail (or stay for the travelogue). At least for now, “The Veil” has earned a longer look.
I haven't yet found the impetus to get started on "The Veil" but if you are looking for another TET, I heartily recommend "Blood Free", another Hulu Original. Not the fastest moving show around, but it definitely has the chops to keep me interested!
My WSOD had the same WTF moment. I'm not aware of any female ISIS members advancing beyond the rank of suicide bomber. But maybe I'm confusing ISIS with the Taliban. But I'm in. Partly because, sorry to beat a dead horse, my well's pretty dry.
I can't quite figure out who Elizabeth Moss is trying to be in this series. I think I caught a bit of dialogue where she references her inappropriate reactions - something akin to getting the giggles at a funeral. I guess it's a welcome departure from the clichéd dour MI6 agent.