Review: Todos lo saben (Everybody Knows)

Todos lo saben (Everybody Knows), the searing and powerful new drama from Iranian writer-director Asghar Farhadi, makes a magnificent meal out of a simple scenario.

Laura (Penélope Cruz) has returned to Spain for the wedding of her younger sister Ana (Inma Cuesta) to Joan (Roger Casamajor) after several years of living in Argentina. Her husband Alejandro (Ricardo Darín) has decided not to accompany her - for business reasons, she tells her family - though her teenage daughter Irene (Carla Campra) and young son Diego (Ivan Chavero) are in tow. Everyone in the village is happy to see her and her brood, and kisses and embraces flow freely as they settle into the large home of her aging father Antonio (Ramón Barea).

Also delighted to see Laura is Paco (Javier Bardem) and his wife Bea (Bárbara Lennie). Paco is a childhood friend and former lover to whom Laura sold her family's land, which he has turned into a successful vineyard. Their history and the simmering rancour surrounding the selling soon bubbles to the surface when, during the wedding party, Irene disappears from the house. Soon thereafter, she receives a text from the kidnappers demanding a ransom and telling her that Irene will be killed if they involve the police. Strangely, Bea also receives the same text.

What ensues is a riveting unraveling - not only of long-held secrets which everyone seems to know about but no one ever talks of - but especially of Paco, Laura and Alejandro. Everyone wonders who could have taken Irene and what the motivation might have been. Could it be due to Alejandro's wealth? If so, then it's a miscalculation on the kidnappers' part since Laura points out that Alejandro has been unemployed for the past two years. Perhaps Laura has simply run away, bringing to life the scenario she shared with Paco's nephew, Felipe (Sergio Castellanos), with whom she has recently shared a kiss. Or it might be Laura's family, somehow exacting revenge upon Paco since they believe he swindled Laura out of their land.

In many ways, it doesn't even matter who did it and why they did it. The increasing emotional complexities between Paco, Laura and Alejandro are the crux of the film and the actors' playing of the shifting dynamics becomes more and more gripping as the film unfolds. This is perhaps the most remarkable element of Todos lo saben, its ability to make you feel not only the weight of the initial impact but the reverberation from that impact that affect like shrapnel. One could view the film as a classier telenovela, but in no way does it ever feel melodramatic due to the depth of feeling that Bardem, Cruz and Darin imbue in their characters.

Cruz is immensely affecting as the distraught Laura, and the chemistry between her and Bardem goes a long way in establishing a history that's full of love and regret. Bardem is superlative as the man who nearly destroys himself in the process of attempting to do what he feels is right.

Todos lo saben (Everybody Knows)

Directed by: Asghar Farhadi

Written by: Asghar Farhadi

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darín, Bárbara Lennie, Inma Cuesta, Elvira Mínguez, Eduard Fernández, Ramón Barea, Carla Campra, Sara Sálamo