Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray

Miranda’s Victim

(2023)

In 1963, 18-year-old Patricia Weir is kidnapped and raped. Determined to put her attacker, Ernesto Miranda, in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by the American justice system when she triggers a law that transforms the nation.

To learn more about Miranda’s Victim and the Blu-ray release of Miranda’s Victim, see the Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray review posted by Dr. Stephen Larson on August 2, 2024 where this Blu-ray release was given a score of 3.0 out of 5.

Director: Michelle Danner

With: Abigail Breslin, Enrique Murciano, Mireille Enos, Donald Sutherland, Ryan Phillippe, Emily Van Camp

Producers: Michelle Danner, Valerie Debler


» See the full cast and crew

Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray Review

Reviewed by Dr. Stephen Larson, August 2, 2024

If you ever took a history or criminology class in high school or college, you’ve probably heard the terms “Miranda rights” and “Miranda warnings.” These terms refer to the rights of a suspect or arrestee to remain silent and to have an attorney present during questioning by law enforcement. These rights were not afforded to Hispanic factory worker Ernest Miranda when he was arrested and questioned by Phoenix police officers in 1963. But Chief Justice Earl Warren and the Supreme Court granted all suspects protection against self-incrimination three years later in a landmark decision, Miranda v. Arizona.

The much lesser-known aspect of this case is the long ordeal endured by one of Miranda’s victims. A few years ago, film producer George Kolber tracked down Patricia “Trish” Weir, who was 18 at the time she was kidnapped and sexually assaulted by Miranda after a bus left her one night after work. Miranda’s Victim (2023), Trish is played by Abigail Breslin in a difficult role that shows courage and bravery. Trish works at the Paramount Theater as an usherette. When she gets off a city bus and heads home, Trish is blindsided by a man who kidnaps and rapes her. When she later goes to the hospital, an unsympathetic doctor examines Trish’s injuries and sends her home. Trish’s sister Ann Weir (Emily VanCamp) is very sympathetic and supportive. When Detective Cooley (Enrique Murciano) and Sergeant Nealis (Brent Sexton) question Trish, they believe her story. Trish’s mother, Zeola (Mireille Enos), also believes her daughter, but wants Trish to keep quiet and not go public with her story as it could lead to future repercussions. Zeola fears that revealing the story will jeopardize Trish’s admission to secretarial school and also prevent her from finding a man.

Cooley and Nealis believe they have enough information about Trish’s attacker to arrest Ernest Miranda (Sebastian Quinn). Trish identifies Miranda in a police lineup. Defense attorney Alvin Moore (Andy Garcia) represents Miranda in his final case. The defendant is tried and convicted. Flash forward to 1966 with Chief Justice Warren (Kyle MacLachlan) and the Supreme Court ruling that all Americans have the right to be read their rights and have an attorney during interrogation. ACLU attorney John J. Flynn (Ryan Phillippe) reads the transcripts of Miranda’s trial and sees a viable opportunity to overturn her case. Trish fears that a freed Miranda will turn on her. She respects her mother’s wishes by not initially revealing her harrowing experience with Miranda to her husband Charles (Josh Bowman). But news of a new trial puts Trish in an uncomfortable spotlight. Prosecutor Lawrence Turoff (Luke Wilson) represents Trish in court before Judge Wren (Donald Sutherland).

Director Michelle Danner does a remarkable job of telling Trish’s experiences and Miranda’s trials in a straightforward and honest manner. Danner gets excellent support from a capable (and star-studded) cast. Danner and her editor Teferi Seifu chose to delay the action of the seminal event affecting Trish. This editing strategy works well, but Danner sometimes overstates her points visually and through dialogue. Miranda’s Victim could have benefited from greater subtlety. The film deserves credit for breaking new ground, since Trish’s version of the story has never been told before.

Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray, Video Quality

Miranda’s Victim The film appears in its original 2.39:1 aspect ratio. Danner states in his commentary that the film was shot on film. Unfortunately, the Vertical Entertainment transfer looks like a slightly worn theatrical print. If you examine some of the screen shots I gathered for this review, you’ll notice small white spots. The source does not appear to be from the original camera negative.

Additionally, Vertical took a 2+ hour feature film and crammed it onto a BD-25. The MPEG-4 AVC encoding is poor, with the image averaging a bitrate of just 17848 kbps. I noticed some banding and macroblocking in low-light shots. Colors are reasonably well defined, but the image often appears soft. It also lacks sharpness and clarity at times. Some of the prison shots are in black and white (see screenshots #27-28).

Thirteen chapter stops, including one for the end credits, accompany the 127-minute film.

Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray, Audio Quality

Vertical offers a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 Surround mix (1774 kbps, 24-bit) and a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 Stereo option (1559 kbps, 24-bit). The sound is noticeably better. Miranda’s Victim Dialogue is heavy and sounds dominate the front speakers. When I played with the 5.1 option, only bass sounds were audible along the rear speakers. Very little separation and subtle sound effects are audible on the surround speakers. I would probably recommend playing the movie with the 2.0 track. The lyrics are clear and understandable.

The optional English SDHs seem accurate and complete. They transcribe the lyrics of a song.

Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray Overall Rating and Recommendation

Miranda’s Victim tells a side of a very important story that has not been known for sixty years. Although the film breaks new ground with hitherto untold real events, it does not break new ground cinematically. The film addresses some of the same subject matter as Jonathan Kaplan The accused (1988), which is a superior drama. However, Miranda’s Victim The film is greatly enhanced by its stellar cast, with Abigail Breslin leading the way. Ryan Phillippe continues to stretch his scope here. Vertical Entertainment’s transfer suffers from poor video encoding and compression. The image probably looks more like a video than the film it was shot on. It’s watchable but could be significantly better. Director Michelle Danner’s audio commentary is a welcome and unexpected surprise given that Vertical doesn’t often include bonus features. As of this writing, it’s the only way to see the film in physical HD. RECOMMENDED.

Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray, News and Updates

• Miranda’s Victim Blu-ray – January 24, 2024

Vertical Entertainment will release Michelle Danner’s Miranda’s Victim (2023) on Blu-ray, starring Abigail Breslin, Donald Sutherland, Ryan Phillippe, Enrique Murciano and Mireille Enos. It is scheduled for release on February 27.

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