Review of The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009) by Paula Ella K — 14 May 2010

There is no subtlety in this film, none; the culprits behind the titular stoning are variously ogre-ish, milquetoasts, or religious fanatics. The two protagonists are innocently vulnerable on one hand and courageously counter-cultural on the other (Shoreh Aghdashloo in the most predictable casting choice ever.) There are two parts to this movie: the necessary exposing of the virulent and violent sexism that infects militant Islamism, and the exploitation of that theme that ultimately cheapens it.

This is Islam, feminism and the intersection of the two packaged for people weaned on Time and Fox News. These two themes are far more complex and nuanced than this blustering, passionately polemic treatment gives them credit for. It gives us an easy target to get mad over, and of course that anger is fully justified. But where do we go from there? How do we navigate the issue of violence and female oppression without swinging to the other extreme of platitudinal posturing against stereotypically backwards foreigners and sex-crazed mullahs? Those are questions pertinent to the broader issue raised by "The Stoning of Soraya M.", and they're important ones. The movie, however, is too intent on screaming the question to calm down and contemplate the answers.