Review of The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009) by Gregory W — 10 Oct 2011

2008 - 3.2 /5.

From the day this movie came out on DVD I had always wanted to watch it. It's unfortunate that it took so long, but nevertheless I decided to rent it. On a sunny Sunday afternoon I sat down to watch this movie with my cup of tea. Judging by the title, I wasn't expecting it to be as bright as the weather. Although it was evident what was to be expected, this movie depicted Soraya's situation that lead up to her inevitable fate.

Right away the music really helps set a somber tone and atmosphere. The story of Soraya's unjust death is told to Freidoune Sahebjam, a French-Iranian journalist whose car broke down in the remote town that the stoning occurred. Zahra is the one telling Freidoune what had happened only a day prior.

Zahra was a powerful person and the only one that spoke out against her niece's helpless situation. I would say that my favourite line was when she said (to the journalist), "The voices of women do not matter here. I want you to take my voice with you". Shohreh Aghdashloo does an amazing job and she is a great actress. Mozhan Marno was great in her role as Soraya M. Considering I've never heard of her before, she did a phenomenal job with this role. I defiantly want to give big props to Jim Caviezel who learned to speak Farsi in 2 weeks for his role as Freidoune. I was also very impressed with all the other cast members: the husband Ali, the mullah, the mayor Ebrahim, Hashem, ect.

The only negative thing about this film would be that it's based on a true story - meaning that these injustices actually take place in Iran and other countries. This is not a feel-good movie, but one that everyone should see.