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Jan 28, 2018Nursebob rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
From the outset of his clever opening credits it’s obvious that not everything is what it appears to be in Asghar Farhadi’s absorbing mystery—part social critique and part morality lecture. Sumptuous cinematography alternates between shadowed interiors and the wide open Caspian sea, finding time to linger on a child’s tears or an adult’s tense face while a solid script defies Western notions of everyday life among Iran’s middle class. Using sly little tropes—a tire spins uselessly in the sand, twisting the truth results in physical illness, an offhand quote becomes prophesy—Farhadi shows how even the whitest of lies can spin the darkest webs while at the same time pointing a gently accusing finger at certain rigid social dictates and an omnipresent patriarchy. Heavy-handed at times with a few lapses of logic but the direction is tight and the cast is nothing less than perfection, especially Golshifteh Farahani’s Oscar-worthy performance as the beleaguered wife who invited Elly in the first place. A fine example of the right director with the right story finding the right ensemble of actors.