--- title: "The Salesman: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/the-salesman/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/the-salesman" critics_score: 74 critics_reviews: 23 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # The Salesman (2016): what the critics said Critics' score 74 from 23 reviews: 19 positive, 4 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like The Salesman, and none dismiss it. Nineteen of twenty-three reviews are positive, and the praise gathers around Farhadi’s plotting: a marriage upended by an attack in a new Tehran flat, built from ordinary incidents into something closer to a thriller. The performances are singled out almost everywhere, Hosseini’s husband in particular, played as a study in wounded male pride. Several reviews admire the long chamber sequence that closes the film. That same closing stretch is where the reviews split. The Guardian, Time Out and The Hollywood Reporter find it contrived and overwrought, and a handful call the film a lesser Farhadi. Consequence thinks the parallels with Death of a Salesman are laid on too thick. Empire notes it dwells on the husband’s reaction more than the wife’s trauma. The lone lukewarm review, from the Evening Standard, argues the characters shrink into positions on justice rather than people. The spread is otherwise narrow. ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic's Pick. 26 January 2017. Farhadi constructs a meticulous and suspenseful story from ordinary incidents in a Tehran marriage, packing it with resonant ideas about trust, honor, and violence. The integration of Arthur Miller's play adds a powerful layer to the tale of crime, punishment, and class. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/movies/the-salesman-review-asghar-farhadi.html) ## Slant Magazine — Chuck Bowen Rating 3.5/4. 23 January 2017. Farhadi merges Iranian thriller-procedural with American melodrama via parallels to Death of a Salesman, yielding tonal friction that is tragic and transcendent; the critic singles out the powerful chamber-drama sequences and the film's exacting empathy for praise. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/the-salesman/) ## The New Yorker Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 23 January 2017. Farhadi masterfully disorients viewers while probing questions of intimacy, respect, and violation in a Tehran couple's life after a disturbing incident. The final chamber piece delivers a piercing moral debate through shifting sympathies and cultural insight. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/01/30/the-salesman-and-split) ## Variety — Owen Gleiberman Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2016. Festival review. Farhadi delivers another finely cut gem of neorealist suspense about a Tehran couple whose lives are upended after moving into a new apartment. The film critiques the Iranian male gaze through strong performances and a true filmmaker's perspective. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2016/film/festivals/cannes-the-salesman-asghar-farhadi-1201779604/) ## Empire — Andrew Lowry Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 6 March 2017. Farhadi brings moral seriousness and class to a rape/revenge story through meticulous construction, elegant visuals and strong performances, though the film dwells more on the husband's reaction than the wife's trauma. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/salesman-2-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Justin Chang Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2017. The film unfolds an emotionally complex domestic tragedy centered on a couple's apartment troubles and stage roles, building to a devastating payoff in its final scenes. Hosseini delivers a study in emasculated rage amid the story's sleuthing and moral tensions. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-salesman-review-20170126-story.html) ## Vulture Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 31 January 2017. The review highlights the film's empathetic exploration of modern Iranian society, trauma, and moral ambiguity through a gripping narrative centered on an assault and its aftermath, commending the performances and the way it deepens social commentary. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2017/01/movie-review-the-salesman-asghar-farhadi.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Tina Hassannia Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 12 September 2016. Festival review. The film uses elliptical storytelling to examine the aftermath of a traumatic incident for a married couple in Tehran, focusing on the husband's reaction to highlight flaws in traditional responses to such events. Hosseini's performance stands out in this exploration of Iranian society and gender dynamics. [Read the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/festivals/tiff-2016-aquarius-the-salesman-window-horses) ## Film Comment — Nick Davis Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 1 January 2017. The critic praises the film's ability to create competing sympathies through moral quandaries and a meta-theatrical premise. It singles out the lead performances and the way the story interrogates identification with characters. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-salesman-ashgar-farhadi/) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 21 May 2016. Festival review. Farhadi builds an intriguing study of a marriage unraveling after random misfortunes and an attack, with moral dilemmas around forgiveness and revenge. The director remains a master of pace and tension, though followers may find it a lesser achievement than his prior works. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-salesman-cannes-review/5104248.article) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 17 March 2017. The critic finds it a minor Farhadi film: forceful, steely and well acted but a bit contrived and unsubtle. He singles out Farhadi's gimlet-eyed anatomising of middle-class hypocrisy in Iranian life, including candid treatment of prostitution, for praise while complaining about the grandiloquent and obvious final sequence. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/mar/17/the-salesman-review-asghar-farhadi-oscar-winner-iran) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Deborah Young Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2016. Festival review. The critic finds the film less socially complex than Farhadi's prior work, with some contrived drama and tedious sections, but praises the powerful knockout finale and the director's shift toward highly dramatized storytelling. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/salesman-forushande-cannes-review-896196/) ## Little White Lies — Mallory Andrews Rating 5/3/4. 15 March 2017. Farhadi offers another astute look at contemporary Iranian society in this compelling relationship drama centered on a couple whose lives are upended after an attack on the wife. The film builds tension effectively through unspoken elements and strong performances but loses momentum in its later sections exploring revenge and masculinity. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/the-salesman) ## The Telegraph Rating 3/5. 17 March 2017. The review notes Farhadi's joined-up plotting and theatre background but finds the film tripped up by too many subplots. It praises the performances and the absorbing middle section exploring the rift between the couple. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/films/2016/05/22/the-salesman-is-tripped-up-by-too-many-subplots---review/) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Rating 3/5. 22 May 2016. Festival review. Farhadi returns to Tehran with a charged, intelligent but not entirely satisfying drama about a couple whose relationship is strained while performing in a production of Death of a Salesman. The film explores male pride and shame through symbolism and theatrical parallels but wanders and becomes over-engineered toward the end. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-salesman) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 50/100 (inferred from the text). 21 November 2017. The film is well-acted with low-key pain and humour but ultimately lacks finesse in its script, turning characters into abstractions representing attitudes to justice rather than fully realised people. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/the-salesman-film-review-farhadi-undersells-miller-thriller-a3680321.html) ## Collider — Brian Formo Rating A-. 25 January 2017. The critic calls the film Farhadi's most complex and risky work yet, a gripping tale of revenge that probes deeper societal issues than his prior films. They single out the illumination of Iranian cultural norms around shame, trauma, and the inability to openly address assault. [Read the review](https://collider.com/the-salesman-review-asghar-farhadi/) ## The Playlist — Kevin Jagernauth Rating B+. 25 January 2017. The critic finds the film compelling and rich in texture but smaller and less universal than Farhadi's best work, ultimately falling short of greatness due to certain choices. Strong praise goes to the fleet-footed, thrilling storytelling and ability to root complex drama in everyday reality. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/asghar-farhadi-the-salesman-compelling-falls-short-greatness-20170125/) ## The Wrap — Robert Abele Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 26 January 2017. The critic finds the film a solid but not peak Farhadi morality play about a couple traumatized by violence, with strong character work and a gripping final act. The last 30 minutes are singled out as a marvel of moral suspense and mini-tragedy. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/the-salesman-review-asghar-farhadi-iran-oscar-foreign/) ## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 22 May 2016. Festival review. The critic calls it an intelligent and interesting film that is restrained and masterful overall, with strong performances, especially from the leads, and good use of symmetry with the play. It loses some constraint and risks melodrama toward the end but remains a strong work. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/the-salesman-review/) ## Consequence Rating B-. 9 September 2016. Festival review. The film succeeds in its expertly plotted revenge quest and portrayal of trauma's fallout but weakens with heavy-handed parallels to the Miller play and some unwarranted melodrama. The critic notes it further cements Farhadi as a thoughtful if imperfect filmmaker. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2016/09/tiff-film-review-the-salesman/) ## Eye for Film — Amber Wilkinson Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 19 March 2017. The critic praises Farhadi's precise control of mood and withholding of the attack itself to build tension and sympathy, along with strong character work. The main complaint is that while the slow burn grips, the plot becomes overwrought toward the climax. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/the-salesman-2016-film-review-by-amber-wilkinson) ## Paste — Kenji Fujishima Rating 7.5. 27 January 2017. Farhadi crafts another morality tale with deeply human, flawed characters whose actions after a violent assault reveal limits of empathy and the pull of pride or vengeance. The critic highlights the film's lingering questions of humanity and morality, especially around the male lead's response. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/the-salesman/the-salesman) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/the-salesman.md