The Stoning Of Soraya M. review

A brutal tale of life under Sharia Law for one Iranian woman

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Based on real-life events that occurred in an Iranian village in the ’80s, this recounts the appalling story of a woman (Shohreh Aghdashloo) whose niece Soraya (Mozhan Marnò) is falsely accused of adultery by her divorceseeking husband.

Under Sharia Law the punishment for this offence, decided at an all-male tribunal, is death by public stoning.

American-Iranian writer/ director Cyrus Nowrasteh’s approach is hardly subtle, favouring didactic dialogue and overblown scoring.

That said, a 20-minute stoning sequence possesses the shocking brutality of The Passion Of The Christ