A little fib snowballs into an avalanche of lies over the course of a three-day family getaway. For the first 30 minutes, writer-director Asghar Farhadi acts the role of magician, using sleight-of-hand to sufficiently divert audience attention away from the cataclysmic events about to take place. It’s when Elly (Taraneh Alidoosti) isn’t about that a psychological thriller begins to take form. Was it an accidental drowning or did the mysterious stranger at the annual retreat decide to make an early exit after a few verbal insults were thrown her way? Fluid, well-rehearsed camera movement — if one must shoot hand-held, this is the way to do it — contribute to the suspense, but only to a point. A hint of undesired whodunit plot elements followed by a quick disintegration into excessive “blame game” in-fighting contribute to the overall slickness, making Elly the most commercial film yet to come out of Iran. Expect an American remake. With Golshifteh Farahani and camerawork by Hossein Jafarian. (2009) — Scott Marks
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