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Movies / Upcoming / The Stoning of Soraya M.
The Stoning of Soraya M.

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The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009)

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Reviews Counted:59

Fresh:32

Rotten:27

Average Rating:5.6/10

Consensus: The Stoning of Soraya M. nearly transcends its deficiencies through the sheer strength of its subject material, but ultimately drowns out its message with an inappropriately heavy-handed approach.

Rated: R [See Full Rating] for a disturbing sequence of cruel and brutal violence, and brief strong language

Runtime: 1 hr 56 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Jun 26, 2009 Limited

Box Office: $519,730

Synopsis: In a world of secrecy, corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a true story that changes everything. This is what lies at the heart of the emotionally charged experience of... In a world of secrecy, corruption and injustice, a single courageous voice can tell a true story that changes everything.

This is what lies at the heart of the emotionally charged experience of The Stoning of Soraya M. Based on an incredible true story, this powerful tale of a village's persecution of an innocent woman becomes both a daring act of witness and a compelling parable about mob rule. Who will join forces with the plot against her, who will surrender to the mob, and who will dare to stand up for what is right. --© Official Site [More]

Starring: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marno, Jim Caviezel

Starring: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marno, Jim Caviezel

Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh

Director: Cyrus Nowrasteh
Screenwriter: Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh, Cyrus Nowrasteh
Producer: Stephen McEveety, John Shepherd
Composer: John Debney
Studio: Roadside Attractions

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Reviews for The Stoning of Soraya M.

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1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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The story is simple and compelling and the title leaves no doubt where the story is going. This is a powerful film for those willing to see its extreme violence.

Full Review Source: rec.arts.movies.reviews | comment Comment
10/20/09
Mark R. Leeper
Mark R. Leeper
rec.arts.movies.reviews

The film does have a certain crude power. But that's part of the problem with it: It's too crude.

Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
09/02/09
Ken Hanke
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)

A laughably manipulative melodrama.

Full Review Source: Las Vegas Weekly | comment Comment
08/20/09
Josh Bell
Josh Bell
Las Vegas Weekly

It is possible to support the journalistic ideal that no stoning should be left unturned while also championing better storytelling.

Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
07/31/09
Marjorie Baumgarten
Marjorie Baumgarten
Austin Chronicle

Whatever its dramatic flaws, and they are many, this is a movie that, in essence, is more than a movie.

Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
07/24/09
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
Christian Science Monitor

Many films have shown more explicit (and often gratuitous) violence, but the impact is greater in this film as it is intensely personal ...

Full Review Source: Playback:stl | comment Comment
07/19/09
Sarah Boslaugh
Sarah Boslaugh
Playback:stl

Often feels more like propaganda than drama.

Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | comment Comment
07/17/09
Robert W. Butler
Robert W. Butler
Kansas City Star

At its best, The Stoning of Soraya M is a snapshot of how evil can spread among the utterly normal, the well-intentioned and the (at least to them) righteous.

Full Review Source: Jam! Movies | comment Comment
07/17/09
Jim Slotek
Jim Slotek
Jam! Movies

It gets its point across with all the subtlety, sorry to say, of a rock upside the head.

Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
07/17/09
Marc Mohan
Marc Mohan
Oregonian

Despite some wonderful performances, the plot plods inexorably and with sickening predictability towards the inevitable conclusion, but nothing can prepare us for the actual event, which Nowrasteh films in real time and in shocking detail.

Full Review Source: Toronto Star | comment Comment
07/17/09
Greg Quill
Greg Quill
Toronto Star
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

Though The Stoning of Soraya M.' s heart is in the right place, its head is lost in storm clouds of anger.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
07/17/09
Stephen Cole
Stephen Cole
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

The magnificent performance by Aghdashloo is worth the price of admission.

Full Review Source: Entertainment Spectrum | comment Comment
07/16/09
Keith Cohen
Keith Cohen
Entertainment Spectrum

It's disappointing that such a serious issue and a passionate cry of outrage is cloaked in such a manipulative melodrama.

Full Review Source: Seanax.com | comment 1 Comment
07/16/09
Sean Axmaker
Sean Axmaker
Seanax.com

The spoiler is in the title of The Stoning of Soraya M., a powerful, relentlessly brutal drama about Iranian capital punishment.

Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
07/16/09
John Hartl
John Hartl
Seattle Times

Although The Stoning is efficiently made, it is ultimately a cheat.

Full Review Source: Arizona Republic | comment Comment
07/16/09
Richard Nilsen
Richard Nilsen
Arizona Republic
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

This broadside against sharia law lacks the finesse of an import, but it's effectively melodramatic, particularly because of the strong performance of Iranian-born actress Shoreh Aghdashloo

Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
07/16/09
Joe Williams
Joe Williams
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

At the end, when a photograph of the real Soraya flashes across the screen, your heart breaks for the poor woman, but your ears are relieved that the film has finally stopped shouting at you.

Full Review Source: Miami Herald | comment 1 Comment
07/10/09
Rene Rodriguez
Rene Rodriguez
Miami Herald

The gallant, educated, and sensitive outsider, will do right by Soraya, unlike the loathsome, fearful, and petty neighbors who killed her.

Full Review Source: PopMatters | comment Comment
07/10/09
Cynthia Fuchs
Cynthia Fuchs
PopMatters

Perhaps the world needs to see these brutalities to open their eyes to the practice, and perhaps that makes The Stoning of Soraya M. noble and worth the price of admission.

Full Review Source: Orlando Weekly | comment Comment
07/09/09
Justin Strout
Justin Strout
Orlando Weekly

The point that it's making about the treatment of women under traditional Islam and the inhumane modes of punishment still prevalent in many countries...is sufficiently important that, with all its flaws, it deserves to be seen.

Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
07/03/09
Frank Swietek
Frank Swietek
One Guy's Opinion
 
 
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Latest News for The Stoning of Soraya M.

June 25, 2009: Critics Consensus: Transformers 2 Is Less Than Meets The Eye
This week at the movies, we've got robots in disguise (Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, starring Megan Fox and Shia LaBeouf) and a family in disrepair (My Sister's Keeper,... More...

June 23, 2009: Shohreh Aghdashloo, Fearless Advocate Opens in new window
Shohreh Aghdashloo has been an outspoken critic of the Iranian government for years -- and her latest film, "The Stoning of Soraya M.," arrives at a time when violent unrest in... More...

April 19, 2009: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
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