A Separation (PG)

Film image

The ViewLeeds Review

StarStarStarStarNo Star
Review byMatthew Turner29/06/2011

Four out of Five stars
Running time: 126 mins

Impressively directed and sharply written, this is a compelling and emotionally gripping human drama with terrific performances from a strong cast.

What's it all about?
Written and directed by Ashghar Farhadi, A Separation is set in present-day Iran and begins with middle-class couple Simin (Leila Hatami) and Nader (Peyman Mooadi) arguing while filing for a divorce that neither of them wants in front of an unseen judge. The issue is that Simin wants to leave the country and take their 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi) with her, while Nader refuses to leave his senile father (Ali-Asghar Shahbazi) behind.

When the judge grants their divorce, Simin goes to live with her parents while she prepares to leave, so Nader hires working class woman Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to look after his father while he goes to work. However, when a tragic accident occurs after an argument between Nader and Razieh, her volatile husband Hojjat (Shahab Hosseini) accuses Nader of a serious crime and everyone ends up in court again.

The Good
Apart from the conceit of making the viewer the judge in the opening scene (by never showing the judge and having Nader and Simin address their pleas direct to camera), Farhadi employs mostly hand-held cameras throughout, giving the film an effective documentary-like feel and a strong sense of realism throughout. This is heightened by the excellent script, which carefully conceals the central incident so we're never quite sure who's telling the truth.

The performances are superb, particularly Mooadi and Bayat, whose interaction leads directly to the court case. These are complex, multi-layered characters with complicated motivations for why they may or may not be telling the truth and the courtroom scenes are both powerfully emotional and extremely gripping as a result.

The Great
Farhadi directs with a strong sense of pace, heightening emotion by having the court case unfold as an angry, fast-paced and occasionally violent argument between all concerned parties. The film is also packed with powerfully moving smaller details, such as the obvious effect her parents' situation is having on Termeh or the heart-breaking day-to-day realities of Nader's father suffering from Alzheimer's, something Razieh is clearly unprepared for when she takes on the job.

Worth seeing?
A Separation is an impressively directed, superbly written and brilliantly acted drama that exerts a tight emotional grip. Highly recommended.

Film Trailer

A Separation (PG)
A Separation has been reviewed by 1 users
image
01 Focus (15)

Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Rodrigo Santoro

image
02 Selma (12A)

David Oyelowo, Carmen Ejogo, Tim Roth

image
03 Far from the Madding Crowd (tbc)

Carey Mulligan, Tom Sturridge, Matthias Schoenaert...

image
04 Chappie (tbc)

Hugh Jackman, Sigourney Weaver, Sharlto Copley

image
05 A Most Violent Year (15)

Oscar Isaac, Jessica Chastain, David Oyelowo

Content updated: 29/10/2015 02:44

Latest Film Reviews

Film Blog

Urban Pundit

Keep up to date with everything in film and cinema at Urban Pundit, the exciting new blog.

Film of the Week

The Conjuring (15)

Hugely enjoyable, genuinely scary horror flick that provides a welcome throwback to classic 1970s chillers, thanks to impeccable production design, a superb script, powerfully atmospheric direction, intense set-pieces and terrific performances.

Latest Close Up

Noah Baumbach Interview

The Frances Ha director discusses co-writing the script with Greta Gerwig, shooting against the backdrop of New York and the real lives of the city’s people, Greta Gerwig’s performance, the music in the film and the picture's visual style.