Film Review: The Stoning of Soraya M (2008)

Directed by Cyrus Nowrasteh
Starring Shohreh Aghdashloo, Mozhan Marno, Jim Caviezel, Navid Negahban, David Diaan, Parviz Sayyad
Written by Betsy Giffen Nowrasteh & Cyrus Nowrasteh (screenplay), Freidoune Sahebjam (book)

The Stoning of Soraya M takes us to Iran in 1986 where French-Iranian journalist Freidoune Sahebjam (Caviezel) is travelling through the country when he meets Zahra (Aghdashloo), a woman who pleads that he listen to her harrowing story. The story is about her neice Soraya (Marno), who was falsely accused of adultery by her scheming husband Ali (Negahban) and consequently stoned to death. This is all based on a true story. Writers Nowrasteh & Nowrasteh adapted their screenplay from the book La Femme Lapidee that Sahebjam wrote shortly after his encounter with Zahra.

Anyone who sits down to watch this film is going to be aware that they will be exposed to a world where atrocities are constantly (and consistently) committed against women. To know that stoning still occurs is a horrifying thought, especially when, in the case of Soraya Manutchehri, it so easily allowed when the accused is innocent.

The performances by the lead actors were quite strong, however a little predictable. Shohreh Aghdashloo (who was nominated for Best Supporting Actress at the 2004 Academy Awards for her role in House of Sand and Fog) did well as the agonising aunt of the damned central character, however after being blown away by her performance in House of Sand and Fog, I was expecting a little bit more from her. And don’t expect to see Caviezel for a lot of screen time, despite being one of the top billed characters, as he is only in the first and last ten minutes of the film.

I found the stoning scene itself a bit too gratuitous. I certainly didn’t expect to see the stones make contact with Soraya’s face and body, yet I was exposed to that and so much more. This scene lasts for around ten minutes which, for me, is nine minutes too long. A stronger effect is often made upon the audience when they don’t get to see absolutely everything. However beautifully the scene was shot, and Nowrasteh used the excrutiating sound of the stones hitting Soraya’s body to full effect, yet I just couldn’t quite get over the fact that I had seen enough of this woman being tortured.

I had never heard of The Stoning of Soraya M until a few weeks ago when I saw it on the shelf at my work. It grabbed my attention straightaway and in return, I took it from the shelf, made my purchase and watched it as soon as I could. When it finally finished I wasn’t quite sure whether I liked it or not, and it took me a little while to ponder this. This film is very relevant in the world in which we live, where families and entire communities can turn against a person for barely no reason at all. By watching the reaction of the community in The Stoning of Soraya M, we see that adultery is an act not only committed against your spouse, but against the entire village you live in as well. What affected me the most throughout this film was the behaviour of one of Soraya’s sons, who was simply a product of the environment his father had set for him. Showing no respect for his mother, and no remorse when she is sentenced to death, the final straw was when he ishanded a stone, nodded his head and proceeded to throw it at his mother’s face. This isn’t exactly easy viewing.

Such extremely confronting subject matter makes you wonder if there are any happy endings in a world such as this.

★★★