Going skint causes misery in ‘Down and Out’

iFilm English website has published a review on this Saturday’s movie ‘Down and Out’.

‘Down and Out’ is Hamid Nematollah's second feature film after ‘Boutique’ with traces of humor and satire. It presents a lovable and cohesive image and has chosen a dangerous situation to depict Iranian drama.

The director takes such a tremendous risk for choosing the actress Leila Hatami for a female starring role that wound up a standout as a deeply difficult role shining brightly in the wake of this high risk.

‘Down and Out’ has a compact narrative with couples and youth hangouts enacted within the parameters of poverty and unemployment.

In this environment, humorous streaks of the flick are noteworthy. ‘Down and Out’ is about a couple whose finical status is affected throughout time and that the dilemma arises meta-textual references in the movie.

The original theme related to family ties and emotions, the existence of children and special human connections that arise between parents and children, and of course today's society that suffers from poverty, deprivation and class conflicts are highlighted here. From another dimension, you can see how thinking about your appearance in public and keeping up with the Joneses play in.

We have to admit that that is not the main issue of this flick, but the fact of the matter is these repetitive and stereotypical ideas are still the main problems of many families leading to tons of arguments between family members.

In ‘Down and Out’, we encounter ups and downs in a serious sense and, of course, sometimes humorous ways.

Why does the family suffer from finical problems? Is this due to the man’s timely self-esteem and pride at work? Could it be the dominance of hypocrisy, might and wealth over the pillars of society and the business environment? How about the ambitions and bragging rights highly pursued by different classes in society? Or it is just a combination of all these plus the destiny and nature of the characters in the story?

‘Down and Out’ has two prestigious and impressive performances--Leila Hatami playing the role of a simple, educated woman who is also a lover with a superficial view of the world, while Bahram Radan playing the role of a proud, hard-working young man who is heavily indebted.

‘Down and Out’ has a good, fluid script set in relatively good locations that reflect the theme of the story.

Perhaps the narrative of the film in terms of humor could have been a bit sharper and more engaging, especially in the case of the film's female protagonist happening to be the right choice there.

‘Down and Out’ is a humorous but bitter sign of social realities. Hamid Nematollah's flick could be a continuation of his previous acclaimed film ‘Boutique’ in which the female lead says, “Money doesn't buy happiness, but going skint causes misery.”

His offering on iFilm English TV’s screen has been acclaimed at the 27th Fajr Film Festival, winning the Best Actress in a Leading role award for the performance of Hatami in the flick.  

Don’t miss ‘Down and Out’, made in 2007, tonight at 22:00 GMT.

MG/MG