About Elly

Little White Lies“A complex, enthralling drama...” First and foremost, his film is a gripping human drama, one that poses serious moral questions while challenging our preconceptions at every turn...

The Independent“Superbly handled...” The subtlety with which Farhadi sets this up will come to seem all the more admirable in the light of what ensues. Unguarded remarks, stifled giggles and casual requests will all be picked over as disaster arrives out of nowhere...

The Observer“An outstanding movie...” A pack of lies is shuffled and dealt as the authorities and the girl's family seek an explanation for her absence. Superbly acted, morally challenging, packed with legitimate suspense, this is film-making of a high order....

Evening Standard“Has the same intelligence, control and fine acting [as A Separation]...” It is the mark of a really good film-maker that he can turn the screw this tightly and place the scene so accurately within the context of a different culture that, at base, seems much the same as our own...

The Telegraph“A coruscating drama wound tight as clockwork...” About Elly actually predates A Separation by two years, but both pictures share the same dramatic DNA. Farhadi’s films are like moral whodunits...

Guardian“A really absorbing picture, powerfully acted, disturbing and suspenseful...” About Elly confirms Farhadi's shrewd judgment of pace, dramatic technique and formal control of an ensemble cast. Anyone who admired A Separation will want to see it...but it stands on its own as a fascinating psychological drama...

Empire“Switching assuredly from 
chic satire to tense mystery...” A Separation director Farhadi’s gifted storytelling and direction is on show again in a damning look at Iranian society...

Time Out film“Social strictures loom large...” The film’s energy, hysteria even, may surprise those whose diet of Iranian film has been served solely by European art house cinema...

Total Film “Farhadi has established himself as a major player in Iranian cinema...” Another shrewdly gauged study of our capacity for deception and self-deception from A Separation’s auteur. Emotionally devastating...