EVERYBODY KNOWS - MIFF 2018

“Everybody Knows” is another of my top eight most anticipated films of 2018 and was also the film I was most looking forward to seeing at this year's MIFF. With the film combining the talents of three world class actors in Penelope Cruz, Javier Bardem and Ricardo Darin, a brilliant cinematographer in Jose Luis Alcaine and a story from arguably the greatest writer/director currently working in cinema today in Asghar Farhadi, “Everybody Knows” had all the ingredients to be something truly special. After his exemplary French set drama “The Past” from 2013, it was very exciting to see Farhadi once again leave his comfort zone of Iran, and tackle a story set in a European country. This time in Spain.

Laura, along with her two children, returns from Argentina to the provincial town she grew up in just outside of Madrid, to attend the wedding of her younger sister. A large gathering of locals and friends, including Paco, (Laura's old flame), attend this joyous occasion and a night of laughs, drinks and partying begins in earnest. In the middle of all the fun, an unexpected blackout occurs cloaking the villa in darkness. For such a special night, a little darkness (not to mention a large rainstorm) is not going to be enough to ruin the fun, and soon candles are lit and the partying resumes. After awhile though, Laura goes to check on her sleeping children only to find that her teenage daughter is missing. Panic ensues, and it doesn't take long to realise that the girl has been kidnapped. The joy and fun of a few moments ago is immediately replaced by fear, despair and pain. With the intense nature of the crime and emotions running high, the kidnapping becomes a catalyst for a number of secrets within the family to be revealed, especially once Alejandro (Laura's husband and the girl's father) arrives from Argentina to help.

Right off the bat, “Everybody Knows” begins with a fantastic extended opening of the wedding and the preparations before it begins. The meeting and greeting of people as they arrive in town. The joy of catching up with old friends. The shock of how much has changed, or how much has stayed the same. Farhadi has done a great job of creating a moment, that is filled with happiness and it all feels incredibly authentic. You believe that these are people who love and care for each other, and who have had long histories with one another. Their happiness within themselves and for their loved ones feels genuine. The wedding reception itself looks like loads of fun with everyone loose, laughing, drinking and just having a good time. Similarly, the film itself during these scenes is also quite loose with the camera work just flowing and the editing brisk. It doesn't feel like shots have been storyboarded to death, rather little moments have been captured on the fly. However once the kidnapping occurs, that all changes. The intense happiness and love is replaced with fear and suspicion, and a tonal change immediately occurs in the film. Characters look at each other now with different eyes, and the people they felt like they all knew intimately suddenly look like strangers or worse, a threat. From that moment on, we never return to the joyous atmosphere of the beginning, as it becomes apparent just how smart Farhadi was to give us this time to fall in love and care for these characters before everything goes to hell.

If you have ever seen a film written and directed by Asghar Farhadi, you would be aware that one of his great strengths is in revealing an emotional depth to the characters slowly while at the same time exposing their secrets (that will likely cause tension in the present or future) in a genuine and real fashion. I have often said that he presents his dramas almost like that of a thriller where seemingly small moments sometimes reveal themselves to be of great importance. With “Everyone Knows”, the film is actually a thriller and personally I felt that Farhadi wasn't able to hide the seams of his creation here. What I mean by this is that I felt that some of the emotional content explored or revealed didn't come from a sincere place. Rather they were there to service the plot than be true to the characters themselves. It is hard to give examples because this film works best knowing little going into it, but I just wasn't as convinced in the reality of some of the drama that later ends up being exposed. The other place where I thought Farhadi struggled was actually in the end where we find out the who's and why's and how comes. It is an incredibly clunky scene filled with loads of expository dialogue with the purpose of spoon feeding exactly what happened for the audience. It is the worst scene in the film and really stands out like a sore thumb especially as this is something Farhadi is usually very good at including into his screenplays in an organic matter. It almost came across that he had no idea how to reveal the end to his audience and just ended up plonking it down in the most basic format possible. While this moment is a shocker, it doesn't ruin the film which aside from this is very good.

I mentioned the quality of actors right at the top of this review, and Penelope Cruz is the absolute standout of the lot here. She is just devastatingly good. She is equally impressive in the early scenes where she is so full of love and warmth for her family, and in the later scenes when she is going through absolute hell. Some of her reactions from questions she is asked are heartbreakingly good. In these moments, she may not say a word, but you know everything she is feeling in that moment. I always say this, but when Penelope Cruz gets to act in her mother tongue, she is truly outstanding and so powerful. Javier Bardem is also fantastic in the role of Paco, Laura's old flame. Paco has since married, and Bardem delivers in convincing his love of his wife and of how much he cares for his ex and her family. A lot of the secrets revealed and tension developed have to do with Paco's character so Bardem has a difficult and multi-layered role but pulls off his scenes admirably and expertly. At times he has to come across as unaffected while being devastated inside, which surely must be a hard thing to act, and yet we understand it all. I must admit that I was a little disappointed that Ricardo Darin didn't have as much to do as the other two, and I would go so far as to say his role was underwritten. Darin plays Alejandro, Laura's husband and is very good in the role as you would expect, but I was really hoping he would get some more moments where he was able to go head to head with these other great actors.

Visually, “Everybody Knows” is unsurprisingly very beautiful. Farhadi enlisted the service of Pedro Almodovar's long time cinematographer, Jose Luis Alcaine, to perform the same duties on his film and the results are, as you would expect, impressive. Alcaine uses the soft sunlight extremely well to show off the landscapes of the town. In fact, his work here reminded me of his work on “Who Can Kill A Child?”, a film he shot way back in 1976 with Narciso Ibanez Serrador, that predominately took place during the sunlight hours. Here he gives the town a bright, sunny, inviting appearance that is juxtaposed with the insidious going ons that are taking place within there.

Overall, I am happy to say that I was not disappointed by Asghar Farhadi's latest film, “Everybody Knows”. While I concede that the film does have a few problems, it is still a very entertaining and emotional thriller. Beautifully shot, and expertly played by the film's actors, these are the high points of the film. I did think that some of the characters motivations benefited the machinations of the plot rather than coming from a real emotion centre (only at times, not always) and that Farhadi struggled with his finale, but these are minor quibbles for another great slice of cinema from this Iranian master. At well over two hours, the film flies by, so that says something about its quality. Once again, I look forward to whatever Farhadi brings to the screen next.

3.5 Stars.