The films of Asghar Farhadi are renowned for being suspenseful dramas, but 'Everybody Knows' switches genres and plunges into thriller territory. The story begins as 40-something Laura returns to her native Spain for a younger sister's wedding, accompanied by her teenage daughter Irene. During the festivities, Irene is drugged and abducted, with the kidnappers leaving evidence they were behind a previous abduction where the victim had been killed.
Messages soon arrive demanding a ransom and warning Laura against informing the police. Laura's family decide to handle matters themselves, but they respond with a disunited front as old secrets, suspicions, jealousies and resentments are exposed. The first secret to emerge is that the reputed wealth of Laura's husband is a mirage, so the panicked clan must search for an alternative cash source to satisfy the kidnappers' requirements. An outsider wavers over supplying the necessary money, but strangely none of Laura's extended family volunteers to make the smallest contribution to ensure Irene's safe return.
Farhadi's direction of the complex interactions between the family members is up to his usual high standard. At the end, rather than neatly wrapping up the narrative, he leaves his audience speculating how the fallout will affect his characters' future lives. Unfortunately he also makes a glaring omission which undermines the film's credibility - the police remain conspicuous by their absence even after the crisis has reached its conclusion, despite a serious crime having occurred.
Messages soon arrive demanding a ransom and warning Laura against informing the police. Laura's family decide to handle matters themselves, but they respond with a disunited front as old secrets, suspicions, jealousies and resentments are exposed. The first secret to emerge is that the reputed wealth of Laura's husband is a mirage, so the panicked clan must search for an alternative cash source to satisfy the kidnappers' requirements. An outsider wavers over supplying the necessary money, but strangely none of Laura's extended family volunteers to make the smallest contribution to ensure Irene's safe return.
Farhadi's direction of the complex interactions between the family members is up to his usual high standard. At the end, rather than neatly wrapping up the narrative, he leaves his audience speculating how the fallout will affect his characters' future lives. Unfortunately he also makes a glaring omission which undermines the film's credibility - the police remain conspicuous by their absence even after the crisis has reached its conclusion, despite a serious crime having occurred.