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90The Stoning of Soraya M. goes well beyond its angry didacticism and its specific indictment of men's oppression of women to achieve the impact of a Greek tragedy through its masterful grasp of suspense and group psychology, and some superb acting.
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It's a powerful, shocking piece, and the denunciation of a system in which an accused woman has to prove her own innocence (while in the case of a man, his guilt has to be proven by others), is strong and clear and unforgettable.
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75The Stoning of Soraya M."has such a powerful stoning sequence that I recommend it if only for its brutal ideological message. That the pitiful death of Soraya is followed by a false Hollywood upbeat ending involving tape recordings and silliness about a car that won't start is simply shameful. Nowrasteh, born in Colorado, attended the USC Film School. Is that what they teach there?
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The sum is difficult to watch. But this isn't a film against Islam or religion in general: A clear distinction is made between Allah's more vicious followers and the mercy of Allah himself.
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75A timely story, given the political upheaval in Iran, it is emotionally explosive. It also is profoundly compelling.
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75The Stoning of Soraya M.'s drawn-out torture sequence is harrowing and lurid.
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Based on a French true-crime best seller, this gory, ham-fisted hybrid of social-issue picture and horror film exerts a crude but undeniable power.
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63This broadside against sharia law lacks the finesse of an import, but it's effectively melodramatic.
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60As with so many message movies, this one trades nuance for naked outrage. The filmmakers'heartfelt intent is admirable, but right now they're competing with a more compellingly told reality.
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60The last thing I want to do is represent The Stoning of Soraya M. as entertainment, summer or otherwise. This is classic tragedy in semimodern dress that means to horrify, and does so more successfully than any film in recent memory.
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50A slow, inexorable slog to the titular event -- a public execution so inconceivably violent and brutal the movie practically dares you not to look away.
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50It also gives another black eye to Iranian fundamentalists. It is most unfortunate, then, that the film isn't better.
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50Director Nowrasteh seems to think the only way to save lives is to sensationalize death. You could trek to the theater and have this movie whack you upside the head. You could also just mail a check for $10 to the human rights group of your choice.
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50Though The Stoning of Soraya M.'s heart is in the right place, its head is lost in storm clouds of anger.
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50The film oddly mirrors "The Passion of the Christ," as a show trial leads inexorably toward an almost sadistically filmed public execution (it doesn't hurt that Jim Caviezel plays the reporter). Like that movie, it gets its point across with all the subtlety, sorry to say, of a rock upside the head.
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This is basically self-congratulatory fare for people who feel more "politically conscious" when reminded that women in the Islamic world can have it rough. Right now, you're better off just watching the news.
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40Thoroughly blurs the line between high-minded outrage and lurid torture-porn.
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33Nowrasteh constantly overplays his hand, not realizing that some horrors speak for themselves.
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Iranian American director Cyrus Nowrasteh, co-writing with wife Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh, has amplified the basic elements of Suraya's story into the worst kind of exploitive Hollywood melodrama, presented under the virtuous guise of moral outrage.
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20A classic case of preaching to the choir, since it's doubtful the film will reach many of the minds that need changing.
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User score distribution:
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Positive: 32 out of 33
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Mixed: 0 out of 33
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Negative: 1 out of 33
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FrancisL10
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GerryF.10
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LorenaL.10