'The Stoning of Soraya M.' review

Mozhan Marno (right) (Credit: MPower Pictures)

In 1986, French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam (Jim Caviezel) found himself stranded in a remote Iranian village and inadvertently stumbled upon the story of Soraya Manutchehri (Mozhan Marno): an unassuming mother whose scheming husband wrongfully accused her of adultery. She was eventually stoned to death by townsfolk, including her father and her own two sons. It was only through the vigilance of a headstrong aunt (Shoreh Agdashloo) that Soraya's ordeal was finally told.

The buzz: Based on Sahebjam's nonfiction best-seller, the film trains a spotlight on a controversial Islamic practice, and on a country that is once again dominating headlines with widespread violence and civil unrest. The film also stars Oscar nominee Agdashloo ("House of  Sand and Fog"), who always brings a bristling potency to her performances.

The verdict: Intense and infuriating. Soraya is dealt one injustice after another, all covered under Islamic dogma that puts the burden on women to prove their innocence. Despite the film's contentious subject matter, director/cowriter Cyrus Nowrasteh remains extremely respectful of Islam, choosing instead to condemn the vile machinations of Soraya’s husband and the town's officials, and show how malice can be used to exploit a religion's inherent bias against women. The sheer barbarism of the act—graphically portrayed in the film—implicates itself, and Nowrasteh remains wise not to proselytize. Everything is told as one big flashback, bookended by the aunt's meeting with Sahebjam. Unfortunately, this narrative device plays like an afterthought, leading to a second climax that feels...anticlimactic.

Did you know? Deplorable as it is, stoning remains protected by Sharia, or Islamic, law. Just this month, Iran's parliament met to discuss banning stoning, as well as the practice of amputating the hands of people convicted of stealing.

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