Directed by: Asghar Farhadi
Starring: Peyman Moadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat
Rated: PG-13
123 minutes

Leila Hatami (left) and Peyman Moadi star in “A Separation.”  (Courtesy photo)

The day after I saw "A Separation," I tried to describe the plot to a friend. What I didn't realize until that moment was that the plot is extremely complicated, to the point where dramatic twists hinge on minor details. Every bit of information (and there's a lot) is important for telling the story. In that respect, "A Separation" is almost a mystery. And yet, it doesn't feel mysterious or complicated–it just feels real. And that's an enormous achievement.

The separation to which the title refers is a marital one; Nader (Peyman Moadi) and Simin (Leila Hatami), your modern Iranian couple, can't agree about leaving the country. Simin wants to leave, while Nader wants to stay to take care of his ailing father. Nader is fine with Simin leaving, but they can't agree on what to do with their young daughter, and neither parent will let the other take her. In a fury, Simin leaves to stay at her parents' home for a while.

Now, needing someone to come take care of his father, Nader hires a friend of a friend, Razieh (Sareh Bayat). Razieh, however, is under a good deal of stress herself–she has an unemployed husband, the commute's terrible, and she's pregnant–and she isn't capable of taking care of an old man. One day, her neglect nearly gets Nader's father killed, and Nader, in anger, shoves her out of the apartment. Razieh, in turn, falls down the stairs. Later that night, she suffers a miscarriage. Naturally, she and her husband hold Nader accountable.

In the following weeks, a fierce battle begins between the families over who is responsible for what crimes, and what each side should do to appease the other. For Nader, the dispute puts even heavier strains on his marriage, his daughter, and, perhaps most importantly, his sense of honor.

The most impressive aspect of this movie is, hands down, the script. Writer-director Asghar Farhadi has deservedly earned an Oscar nomination for the screenplay, which forces us to take sides and change our minds over and over and over. It is brilliant in its portrayal of two families struggling to save their honor and their money. It's real without being boring, exciting without feeling forced, complex without getting confusing.

I also tip my hat to Farhadi for finding such good unknown actors. There is a riskiness to the performances that can only be achieved with newcomers, and it pays off tremendously. Sareh Bayat, one of our leads, has no other film credits to her name, but she's as good as any seasoned actor. Farhadi even employs his own daughter as one of the actors, and she holds her own with the adults.

And then there's our loveless married couple, played by Leila Hatami and Peyman Moadi. They show no affection toward each other, and yet we can still see the weak remnants of a connection. What Hatami and Moadi are so good at doing is hiding their feelings for each other; they might be separated and arguing constantly, but it's evident that they are comfortable with each other, and perhaps only with each other. Both leads are great in other context—in the legal disputes with Razieh, with their daughter, with the neighbors, and so on—but their marital dynamic, the core of the story, is perfect.

If anything, "A Separation" is a great lesson in Iranian culture. All storytelling aside, there is quite a bit we can learn from this movie about, among other things, Iranian schooling, the rights of women, the legal system, traffic, and general expectations. That alone would be enough to merit a viewing. That this movie also contains a nearly flawless script and all-around great performances makes it that much better. I wouldn't say this movie is perfect, though; I think I saw a typo in the subtitles.

Danny Eisenberg is a 2010 graduate of the Bromfield School and is currently a student at the University of Pennsylvania.