‘McVeigh’ Review – A Harrowing True Story Retold With Tact [Tribeca 2024]

McVeigh plays like a “day in the life” film, and to that point, it feels awfully realistic. Essentially the entire first act is spent recycling verisimilar days back-to-back-to-back, allowing small plots to unfold beneath the overarching through line that is a tragedy.

That is, in this case, the aftermath of the Waco siege through the tired eyes of an army veteran who can’t seem to escape his past, and the ideas that come with it. Timothy, played by Alfie Allen, is basically a case study here. Allen’s performance is perfectly prodding, as it should be. His subtle expressions and physical cues make watching him mope around a rather interesting mystery, up until the film breaks things open and the main plot kicks into gear. We’ll avoid spoiling it for those unfamiliar, but it’s safe to say that Allen’s versatile unpredictability is a highlight.

Also making noteworthy appearances are Ashley Benson and Anthony Carrigan respectively. Each plays a relatively minor role, but they also add tremendously to the lived-in feeling of the film, one that Allen’s melancholy benefits from not having to carry alone.

On the technical front, McVeigh matches the narrative tone and opts for moody, long-lasting pictures that resonate with a powerful ease. Soft orange light pervades nearly every scene, shaping the performers’ faces and hinting at the extreme drama that feels dreadfully inevitable all the way up to the point in which it happens. Shots are framed with a simple, suggestive force that allows the details to stand out in ways that reveal just enough about a scene to make you want to search it. You’ll comb frames for information as dialogue spills from end to end; there’s more to this than meets the ear, and hats off to the filmmakers for managing such a tight visual palette.

But at 90 minutes, McVeigh does stumble here and there to pace things properly. The aforementioned daily life setup gives way to a more focused, story-based draw. The switch is gradual, which helps, but days quickly begin to blend into one another and it doesn’t take long for the whole thing to wear on the viewer. Once the mundane nature of things is replaced with a more traditional, faster way of going about things, the things that were previously established as revisited mainstays begin to feel like set dressing.

Characters’ importance fades in and out with their appearances; they’ll pop back up just long enough for you to remember why they’re here, and then they’re gone again. With such a small cast, this negative effect is thankfully limited, but it still impacts the full package negatively in the long run.

Still, McVeigh finds its way in the end by way of a shadowed resonance that sits over the film’s final act. The true story of Timothy McVeigh is adapted to a harrowing degree of intensity, and director Mike Ott is doing more than just telling this story. His film wins out by translating that previously noted lived-in feel into a retelling that feels so realistic it hurts. The film crumbles with the mind of the man at the heart of it, in a way that fits both the story and subject matter. Tragedy is the ever-unraveling thread that ties this story together, and intentionally tears it apart, and Ott handles that with class, understanding, and sharp precision, all in equal parts.

Shots hang on shadows, grimaces linger, and McVeigh proclaims that it’s built to last. This may very well not suit every watcher, maybe due to the harsh nature of the topic alone, but it’s an undeniably well-made project that delves into themes many movies don’t even dare touch. Give this one a shot if the premise so much as intrigues you, and you’ll likely come out satisfied.

McVeigh held its World Premiere as a part of the Spotlight Narrative section of the 2024 Tribeca Festival.

Director: Mike Ott

Screenwriters: Mike Ott, Alex Gioulakis

Rated: NR

Runtime: 90m