Waste of time

Brilliant and touching

True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

THIS REVIEW INCLUDE SPOILERS!!! READ ON YOUR OWN RISK. (I HIGHLY RECOMMEND TO READ THIS AFTER YOU HAVE WATCHED THE MOVIE!)I thought the movie were great. In the first part, the 45 min, I didn't think much about the movie. But when the movie had a turning point and the boy, Arash, was about to drown as well as the disappearance of Elley, it really became interesting. I think this movie shows how hard it's to keep on a lie that have killed another person. It's a movie full of emotion and keep you want to watch more of it, at least after the turning point. I think the morale of the movie is to think about your consequences before you do an action. This is shown through Sepideh (Golshifteh Farahani) and her role throughout the movie. Overall, I thought it was a splendid movie with an awesome plot. This movie is a very typical "not judge the book by it's cover" movie. So as you also see and maybe can learn of not skip a high-rated movie before you have watched it throughout. But, my main reason for writing this review is to ask a question, maybe a FAQ (frequent asked question), and since it wasn't available to do it on the FAQ panel, I thought the best way was to write a review and maybe someone would take a look at it. Anyway, my question is: Why did Spideh decide to be a matchmaker for Elly and Ahmad? Because Spideh obviously knew that Elly had a fiance, Alireza. It's true that she did't wasn't in good terms with her fiance, but that doesn't mean she didn't like him anymore. Because if I have understood it correctly, the call she had in the car was with her fiance, not with her mother, as she told Ahmad. If she could casually talk to him, why being a douche and try to spearate them. Why did she try so hard, by hiding her bag and phone and by lying in the end to Alireza about her wanting to find a new man (which was understandable to her cause she would end up in prison and would be terrible for her family), to end their relationship after they had been together for 3 years. It just doesn't make sense to me. What was her good intention for doing so? Because all I saw was her regret for doing it and it just doesn't make sense. Because obviously it wasn't good for Elly too, so why invite her to someplace she doesn't want to be at? If anyone have an excellent answer to my question, I would really appreciate it. And lastly, thanks for reading my review. ^_^

Yet another example of fine writing and exceptional craftsmanship from Asghar Farhadi, whose films I've grown to love. The man often takes the simplest of simple plot-lines and concocts a tale where the ball is set rolling due to the occurrence of certain events. Here too, the case is similar. There is a lot of layering and essential subtext that a viewer would not likely be able to grab hold of, on initial viewing. The film is a thought-provoking account on how lies can at times hold greater might than the truth.The movie deals with a bunch of individuals who are taking a trip to the seaside in northern Iran. Elly (one of the kids' teachers) is however the complete outsider in the group. What I love about Farhadi's films is the way he projects the various character arcs and how he never attempts to spoon-feed the audience. It takes quite a while even for the ardent viewer to understand the behavioral traits of each character and how they relate to each other. The first half an hour is pretty much the typical 'picnic movie' with the usual archetypes. When Elly goes missing under mysterious circumstances, things start to go haywire. Some of the characters (especially Sepideh) come across with startling revelations which the others don't take too lightly to. Another interesting aspect to note is how Farhadi lets his characters behave rationally at any given situation. The viewer never given a chance to go into "Why the hell did he/she do that?" mode. Again, the dialogues are so believably written and the performances predominantly natural that the audience is likely to feel the dampness themselves. The roaring sound of the sea acts as a metaphor for the overall fidgety mood. Just as each wave would bring unseen particles to the shore, Sepideh (played magnificently by Golshifteh Farahani) elucidates certain undisclosed information on Elly which doesn't go down well with the rest of the group. Another depiction would be that, regardless of how big a sand-castle you build or how large a writing you make with your hands/feet on the shore, one strong wave alone is enough to undo all your efforts (similar to how the events pan out in the film - lies appearing to be stronger and more believable than actuality!). Farhadi-regulars Shahab Hosseini and Peyman Moaadi also play key roles. Saber Abar delivers a solid performance, as Ali Reza. The less revealed on the plot details, the better the viewing experience.'About Elly' requires multiple viewing, similar to Farhadi's other films. There is indeed a lot of subtlety on display and one needs to keep an open mind in order to comprehend the subtexts. One of the stunning psychological thriller pieces you'll ever lay your eyes on!

Sepideh (Golshifteh Farahani) has invited her friend Elly (Taraneh Alidoosti) to join her friends and family on a three-day vacation. One in which she planned to try to match Elly with Ahmad (Shahab Hosseini) since he is recently separated and saw them as a good match. However, during one day at the beach, everything goes wrong. Thus leading to Sepideh having to reveal more about Elly than she cares to, and her being forced to take responsibility for the lies and actions she hid from the group. PraiseAs I find myself increasingly watching more and more foreign language movies, I find myself seeing more similarities to English counterparts. However, with About Elly, there is a spin here dealing with the fact the cast is Muslim and it brings certain cultural specific thoughts, issues, and circumstances. All of which make this slightly more interesting than if it was another English American movie, but only but so far.CriticismWhen it comes to issues with this film, honestly it maybe more so me, in terms of what I like as a movie goer than the film itself. For, as can be seen in many a criticism, once a film goes over an hour and a half, 9/10 I will note the film overstayed its welcome. An issue which undoubtedly is in About Elly since it lacks any sort of intriguing drama at all. For even as Sepideh reveals her and Elly's secrets, and we meet someone from Elly's life, there remains this complacent tone which makes you feel sleepy and drowsy.Something which isn't helped by how difficult it is to uniquely identify most of the characters. For while the men can be slightly identified by their hair grooming, and some by their weak story lines, the women largely are ghostly figures. Which isn't to say they don't have a place in the film, for Sepideh and Elly are the two main figures, outside of Ahmad, but unless you take notes I'd say it may take longer than it should to know who is who of the cast.Overall: Skip ItIs there anything seriously wrong with this film? No. However, there isn't much done with this film to really constitute you investing 2 hours of your time, and the price, to see it. For while the acting is decent, and the story is OK, this really has no selling point besides it having a Muslim cast. Take that away and you have your usual melodrama which doesn't really take advantage of the many avenues it could, and it just leaves you drained and kicking yourself for wasting your time. Hence the Skip it label for while it seemed like it could have been interesting, I finished the film sorely disappointed.

ABOUT ELLY is an interesting and highly watchable Iranian film that's been marketed as a mystery type thriller, although in fact it's a piece of relevant and timely social commentary. The storyline is about a group of young people - friends, family, and offspring - who gather together for a weekend of fun at a beach house. However, disaster strikes when a child is washed into the sea and one of the women goes missing. The first thing that strikes the viewer is that ABOUT ELLY is a very well made film. The cinematography is excellent with lots of beautiful shots both of scenery and actors. The acting is of a realistic standard and despite the drama of the storyline there's never any melodrama or over the top emoting going on.Writer/director Asghar Farhadi uses the film's narrative to explore questions of what it means to be young and carefree in modern-day Iran. In particular, gender relationships are explored in detail, particularly when it comes to permissiveness and the like, and to what extent a young woman has freedom in society to do as she wishes. It's all highly interesting, giving western audiences a chance to find out something about what a little-known country is really like for the people living there.