Thriller is a slow-burning affair

Cinema

Everybody Knows (15) Everybody knows fragments of the truth in Asghar Farhadi’s slow-burning thriller but piecing together this mosaic of desire and regret across the class divide is another matter entirely.

Set against the backdrop of a family wedding with a full complement of underlying tensions, Everybody Knows orchestrates the abduction of a teenager then sows seeds of mistrust between guests as the clock ticks down on a ransom demand.

Farhadi’s picture promises more than it delivers but the writer-director confidently holds our attention for more than two hours as his slippery plot uncoils. He conjures a vivid sense of community and relishes the opportunity to test the ties that bind friends and neighbours on the sleepy outskirts of Madrid. Penelope Cruz is luminous as a wife on the verge of a nervous breakdown, whose primary concern is her flesh and blood.