Families and secrets. What starts as a gathering of the clan for a wedding takes a turn to the dark side in Everybody Knows. Iranian writer/director Asghar Farhadi (The Salesman and The Past) returns to the director’s chair with this slow moving thriller.
Laura (Penélope Cruz) returns to Spain for the wedding from her home in Buenos Aires. She is traveling with her children but not her husband. She comes in contact with an old flame Paco (Javier Bardem). They enjoy an idyllic ceremony, even the man of the cloth pimping for his church does little to tarnish the joy.
The afterparty is going strong with lots of dancing and free flowing alcohol when suddenly there is a power failure. It’s from this point on, the film switches gears and becomes a thriller. This puts you in the position of becoming a detective and asks you to unravel the clues to figure out what’s going on.
The film builds its suspense at a very laggard pace and the clues it gives you are often times a bit too obvious. It does however make you question all of the minor player’s motives and with a cast this size that can be a bit of a challenge. Things pick up a bit at the conclusion and it ends on a note that is very un-Hollywood.
Rob Hudson
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