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.

Rate this Movie ![]()
- Showtimes & Tickets
- Write a Review
- Read Reviews
- Add to List
- Get this Movie
- Buy Poster

- Visit Official Site

The Stoning of Soraya M. (2009)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
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
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
Get This Movie
Reviews for The Stoning of Soraya M.
The film does have a certain crude power. But that's part of the problem with it: It's too crude.
It is possible to support the journalistic ideal that no stoning should be left unturned while also championing better storytelling.
Whatever its dramatic flaws, and they are many, this is a movie that, in essence, is more than a movie.
Many films have shown more explicit (and often gratuitous) violence, but the impact is greater in this film as it is intensely personal ...
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.
It gets its point across with all the subtlety, sorry to say, of a rock upside the head.
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.
Though The Stoning of Soraya M.' s heart is in the right place, its head is lost in storm clouds of anger.
The magnificent performance by Aghdashloo is worth the price of admission.
It's disappointing that such a serious issue and a passionate cry of outrage is cloaked in such a manipulative melodrama.
The spoiler is in the title of The Stoning of Soraya M., a powerful, relentlessly brutal drama about Iranian capital punishment.
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
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.
The gallant, educated, and sensitive outsider, will do right by Soraya, unlike the loathsome, fearful, and petty neighbors who killed her.
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.
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.
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 ![]()
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 ![]()
More...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie | Date |
|---|---|---|
| 75% 75% | The Road | 11/25 |
| | Old Dogs | 11/25 |
| | Ninja Assassin | 11/25 |
| | Princess and the Frog | 11/25 |
| 67% 67% | Me and Orson Welles | 11/25 |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- The Stoning of Soraya M. at Rotten Tomatoes
- The Stoning of Soraya M. at IGN
Fresh Links
Featured

TECHLAND gives us a first look at the extras, including Leonard Nimoy's last day on set!

AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.
Promos

Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!


Top Critic


