17 Jun A Man of Integrity Review

A MAN OF INTEGRITY

dir. Mohammad Rasoulof, starring Reza Akhlaghirad, Soudabeh Bayzai, and Nasim Adabi

Reza, having distanced himself from the urban quagmire, leads a simple life along with his wife and young son, somewhere in a remote village in Northern Iran. He spends his days working on his goldfish farm. Nearby, a private company with close links to the government and local authorities, has taken control of nearly every aspect of regional life. Its shareholders, accumulating wealth, power and economic influence, have been pushing local farmers and small owners to sell off their belongings, farms and estates, to the benefit of the Company’s influential network and its monopoly. It is under their pressure that many villagers have themselves become local links in the larger network of corruption.

Written, directed, and produced by Mohammad Rasoulof, the veteran director has made it his mission to highlight issues within the Iranian regime for over a decade. Here, in A Man of Integrity, the theme is loud and clear: corruption within one of the most influential regimes in the Middle East is rampant. Rasoulof hammers this point home time and again by creating The Company, a shadowy conglomeration of individuals within Reza’s local town comprised likely of anyone from the town mayor to the police to everyday citizens. While The Company comes off as a bit of a one note Illuminati style antagonist looming in the background, their reach is evident: they want Reza’s land and will stop at nothing to get it. The result is a classic tale of David vs Goliath as Reza struggles to hold onto what’s his. A dour story presented straightforwardly with no flair, A Man of Integrity is sure to leave audiences stunned at both the circumstances Reza endures and his final solution to navigating them.

Starring Reza Akhlaghirad as Reza, our titular man of integrity is the film’s focal point and audience’s entryway into the story. Akhlaghirad is intense as Reza, a man steadfast in not giving into the moral corrosion that transpires around him. It’s this unwillingness to bend that both defines and destroys him. While Reza’s determination to stick to his tenets are admirable, the ensuing chaos he brings on his family is undeniable. Akhlaghirad plays all of this with a quiet stoicism while also hinting at a current of rage that runs just under the surface. As the film’s lead, Akhlaghirad puts the movie squarely on his shoulders and rises to the challenge. Soudabeh Bayzai also stars as Hadis, Reza’s wife and the savvier of the two. Hadis has her own journey through the movie as the principal of the local girl’s school, dealing with the fallout of expelling a student for denouncing her religion. Hadis learns the hard way that their family isn’t built for tackling mass corruption and Bayzai’s performance throughout is remarkable. Struggling to keep things together on both the school and family front, Bayzai’s portrayal of the beleaguered wife and mother will hopefully prove a star making turn for the sophomore actress.

Directed by no-frills filmmaker Mohammad Rasoulof, A Man of Integrity is a fastball pitch straight down the middle; he eschews any attempts of style or panache and presents life in Iran as realistically as possible. Bold and unforgiving, Rasoulof doesn’t shy away from the real life issues affecting his people, choosing instead to spotlight them for the world to see. What little contentment we get for Reza and his family is fairly quickly interrupted by the forces at work against him, sending them into a tailspin of moves and countermoves. Cinematographer Ashkan Ashkani bleeds the film of any bright colors, helping to add to the drabness of the film’s tone and the circumstances they find themselves in. Almost somber to the point of oppressive, Rasoulof’s story, combined with Ashkani’s visuals, hit the audience early and continue to hammer away through the runtime.

Overall, A Man of Integrity is a tough watch. Due partially to the languid pace and partially to the bleakness of the subject matter, the 117 minute meditation on the slow erasure of a man’s morals is a chore to sit through. Not to say that the movie isn’t good; if you take a step back and examine the obstacles placed in Reza’s path to lead him to makes the decisions he does, it’s not hard to admit that the story isn’t incredibly well crafted. Solid leading performances from Reza Akhlaghirad and Soudabeh Bayzai anchor the film in a way that makes watching the eroding of this couple’s well-being sympathetic and aching. A Man of Integrity will open at the IFC Center and at New Plaza Cinema in New York on June 17, and at the Laemmle Monica and Town Center in Los Angeles on June 24, 2022. Other select cities will follow.

Review by Darryl Mansel