Todos lo saben (Everybody Knows)

Starring: Penélope Cruz, Javier Bardem, Ricardo Darín, Eduard Fernández, Bárbara Lennie, Inma Cuesta, Carla Campra

Director: Asghar Farhadi

Laura (Penélope Cruz) has arrived in Madrid with her two kids, but without her husband Alejandro (Ricardo Darín), for her sister's wedding. After a night of raucous celebration and reuniting with family and friends, Laura awakens to find her daughter Irene (Carla Campra) is missing. Willing to immediately help is Paco (Javier Bardem), Laura’s childhood friend and former lover. Soon, Laura receives a text from Irene's kidnappers that demands a ransom and says to not go to the police. As the search for who could be responsible intensifies, long buried secrets surface and it becomes clear that someone close is behind Irene's disappearance.

This is a very intense film, anchored by two stellar performances by real life couple Penélope Cruz and Javier Bardem. Cruz in particular could have overplayed the role by slipping into hysterics but was able to find a realism to her character’s sadness at having her child kidnapped. While the film does slip a little into soap opera territory, especially as secrets are brought to light, both actors keep their characters firmly planted in reality. Equally important to the film is the relationships they share with their significant others. Paco's wife Bea, played by Bárbara Lennie, gets a good chance to step outside the traditional wife role and her reason for being upset at Paco's involvement in the situation isn't born out of jealousy of the ex lovers.

While the secrets that are being revealed aren't necessarily shocking or surprising, the script is a masterclass in tension, keeping you on your toes, since anyone at the wedding could be a realistic suspect. The reveal of who was behind the kidnapping is interestingly not treated as a big gotcha moment, which I also appreciated.

While his previous two films have gone on to earn world-wide acclaim, this is the first Asghar Farhadi film I have gotten a chance to see and I definitely want to check out the others now. The film looks fantastic, with its gritty look and fantastic performances. I appreciate that this Iranian filmmaker stretched presumably out of his comfort zone to make a Spanish Language feature and I can't wait to see what he does next.

B+