'Crime and punishment' is a book by Dostoyevsky, but it could just as well haven been the title of Asghar Farhadi's recent film. It shows how a thirty-something couple copes with the aftermath of a violent crime. Rana is attacked by a stranger who entered the house while her husband, Emad was absent. The attacker escapes and Rana is taken to the hospital by the neighbours. Afterwards, she wants to turn the page as soon as possible and refuses to report the crime to the police. But her husband, Emad, can't bear the thought that the intruder gets away with it so easily.
The film shows how Emad searches for the attacker, finds him eventually and ultimately confronts him. Farhadi shows how anger and the urge for revenge almost make him lose control. It's Rana who manages to prevent things from spinning out of control.
As usual, Farhadi is a master in showing understated emotions. A clever gimmick is the way how the events influence their professional life: they are stage actors and play husband and wife in Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman'. The play seems to serve as a theatrical mirror, reflecting the events and emotions dominating their private lives.
Farhadi also weaves some nice observations into the story about the position of women in modern-day Iran. Rana doesn't want to go to the police, because she is not comfortable with having to go into detail about the sexual attack. The man who attacked her turns out to have been visiting a prostitute. One of their colleagues in the theatre company has to bring her young son to the rehearsals, because she is divorced. But to be clear: this is not a film about Iran. It could just as well have been set in any other country. It is about two people, about a crime, and about punishment.
The film shows how Emad searches for the attacker, finds him eventually and ultimately confronts him. Farhadi shows how anger and the urge for revenge almost make him lose control. It's Rana who manages to prevent things from spinning out of control.
As usual, Farhadi is a master in showing understated emotions. A clever gimmick is the way how the events influence their professional life: they are stage actors and play husband and wife in Arthur Miller's 'Death of a Salesman'. The play seems to serve as a theatrical mirror, reflecting the events and emotions dominating their private lives.
Farhadi also weaves some nice observations into the story about the position of women in modern-day Iran. Rana doesn't want to go to the police, because she is not comfortable with having to go into detail about the sexual attack. The man who attacked her turns out to have been visiting a prostitute. One of their colleagues in the theatre company has to bring her young son to the rehearsals, because she is divorced. But to be clear: this is not a film about Iran. It could just as well have been set in any other country. It is about two people, about a crime, and about punishment.