There Is No Evil (2020)
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There Is No Evil Movie Review
There Is No Evil is a 2020 Iranian drama film directed by Mohammad Rasoulof. It’s mostly a very strong, cinematic picture.
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“I was the one who pulled out his chair“
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The movie is an anthology consisting of four stories that are variations on the crucial themes of moral strength and the death penalty that ask to what extent individual freedom can be expressed under a despotic regime. The first section is my least favorite as it lasts for only thirty minutes and it’s just a setup for the rest of the movie without being a full storyline in itself.
The second segment is wonderful. It portrays a young man who doesn’t want to proceed with the death penalty even if that belongs to his job routine. The conflict that he has with other workers is very interesting and dramatic while the emotional levity here is undeniably potent. It is a story that is ultimately one full of optimism and humanity, which I admired.
The third segment is probably my favorite. The twist that happens was probably too convenient, but it provided a lot of suspenseful drama later down the line. This particular story functions as a romance at first, but it becomes a messy relationship drama with a lot of conflict and problematic emotions emerging due to its troublesome revelation.
The fourth segment ended with yet another revelation and I found that twist very soapy unfortunately. Again, the execution is mostly excellent, but it was too much for me to have so many twists in one movie and all are borderline soapy. But other than that, the character interactions here were excellent and I loved the two central characters. That opening car drive scene was simply wonderful.
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The characterization is excellent in There Is No Evil as everybody is easy to relate to and complex. The direction from Mohammad Rasoulof is superb and the pacing is actually terrific for an anthology feature, especially the editing. The highlight for me was the cinematography. The movie is so cinematic as many parts are just incredibly memorable and the depiction of both city and country life was a great choice with the countryside second half being my favorite as some of the natural landscapes were amazing to witness.
