Movie Review - Fireworks Wednesday

Fireworks Wednesday (Chaharshanabe Suri) (2016/2006)

Starring Hedye Tehrani, Taraneh Alidoosti, Hamid Faroknezhad, and Pantea Bahram

Directed by Asghar Farhadi

I've praised writer-director Asghar Farhadi's ability to craft taut, intimate "thrillers" -- films that take seemingly everyday aspects of life and make them mini-mysteries.  With the Academy Award-winning director's films becoming more popular, one of his first flicks, Fireworks Wednesday, finally made its way over to the United States last year and it shows that even early in his career Farhadi was adept at his craft.

Maid and soon-to-be bride Rouhi (Taraneh Alidoosti) accepts a one-day job at the apartment of a married couple who is preparing to travel to Dubai for a trip.  Upon her arrival, however, Rouhi discovers something is amiss with Mozhdeh and Morteza Samiei (Hedye Tehrani and Hamid Faroknezhad) with Mr. Samiei acting secretive and Mrs. Samiei nervously suspicious.  As the day progresses -- Fireworks Wednesday, a holiday in Iran where this tale takes place -- Mozhdeh reveals to Rouhi that she believes that her husband is cheating on her with their next door neighbor, Simin (Pantea Bahram), a hairdresser who works out of her home.  As the camera shifts focus from Rouhi to Mozhdeh to Morteza to Simin, little bits of truth are revealed allowing this realistic mini-mystery to unfold onscreen at a pace some may find slow, but this reviewer finds intriguing.

Even more than a decade ago, Farhadi (who co-wrote this film) was acutely attuned to the type of films that were going to be his bread and butter -- small scale films driven by a seemingly simple plot where motivations of characters are gradually revealed to the audience in a way that creates tension and excitement from even the most everyday, normal aspects of life.  Add in the sense of intensity oftentimes felt in the oppressed Iranian culture (where many of Farhadi's films take place) and you've got a unique brand of mystery that the director and writer has mastered.  Fireworks Wednesday isn't his best work, but it's darn good.  The cast is stellar, although oddly no one really stands out in this true ensemble piece.  It grows a tiny bit tiresome at points -- Farhadi's films admittedly do have a tendency to do this -- but the payoff is worth the time.

I realize the usage of my wording in that last sentence may be slightly deceiving.  "Payoff" may insinuate some overly DRAMATIC denouement, but Farhadi's "reveals" are never jaw-dropping or mind-blowing.  Their naturalness is always fitting of the story in which they are a part...which is always one of the reasons Farhadi works for me as a director.

The RyMickey Rating:  B