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Reviews Counted:63
Fresh:34
Rotten:29
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.
...there is something condescending and judgmental in the filmmaker's subtext that seems to exonerate Western culture as somehow less complicit in the atrocious murders that it commits against innocent and guilty citizens alike.
[It] has strong performances and courageously exposes the horrifying, inhumane Islamic practice of stoning adulterers, but it suffers from poor character development and a contrived script that lacks subtlety, authenticity and emotional resonance.
The film is plodding and simplistic.
Soraya's story seems like it could he a fine film, but this isn't it.
A devastating (albeit didactic and conventional) indictment of religious extremism as practiced in one Iranian village.
It is impossible not to be moved by such a heartbreaking story.
The Stoning of Soraya M. functions as a message-movie slasher film.
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 Stoning of Soraya M. has such a powerful stoning sequence that I recommend it if only for its brutal ideological message.
Top CriticIt's disappointing that such a serious issue and a passionate cry of outrage is cloaked in such a manipulative melodrama.
The film comes perilously close to reveling in the horror while revealing it. And dramatically, this is distressingly simple-minded fare: ugliness leads to ugliness.
Right now, you're better off just watching the news.
The whole movie marches to that same, sad rhythm of unalterable horror, illuminated by Joel Ransom’s brutal and beautiful cinematography. The sum is difficult to watch.
The expansive dramatic approach makes sense, even at its most cringe-inducing, as Stoning is a picture created solely to disturb and provoke, not educate. With those goals in mind, the film is a smashing success.
Seeing this kind of injustice makes me feel challenged by Proverbs 31:8, 'Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves; ensure justice for those who are perishing.'
[A] shattering and powerful drama.
This gory, ham-fisted hybrid of social-issue picture and horror film exerts a crude but undeniable power.
A riveting account of oppression, injustice and defiance.
The gallant, educated, and sensitive outsider, will do right by Soraya, unlike the loathsome, fearful, and petty neighbors who killed her.
...reduces an admittedly devastating subject matter to a series of eye-rollingly hoary clichés and stereotypes.
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June 23, 2009:
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April 19, 2009:
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