The film was hailed critically upon the release in its home country. One year after its release, it was voted the 4th greatest Iranian movie of all time by the national society of Iranian critics. The
review aggregator website
Rotten Tomatoes reports a 99% approval rating with an average rating of 8.1/10 based on 70 reviews. The website's consensus reads, "
About Elly offers viewers performances as powerful as its thought-provoking ideas, and adds another strong entry to Asghar Farhadi's impressive filmography." On
Metacritic, the film holds a score of 87 out of 100 based on 29 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim". One of the strongest supporters of
About Elly is
David Bordwell, film theorist and
film critic, who has called it a masterpiece: "Gripping as sheer storytelling, the plot smoothly raises some unusual moral questions. It touches on masculine honor, on the way a thoughtless laugh can wound someone's feelings, on the extent to which we try to take charge of others' fates. I can't recall another film that so deeply examines the risks of telling lies to spare someone grief. But no more talk: The less you know in advance, the better. About Elly deserves worldwide distribution pronto." Alissa Simon of
Variety wrote in her review: "To many, the film's first half may seem mannered, even boring, with the old pals, particularly the men, indulging in obnoxious, condescending behavior. But after an alarming incident at the 45-minute mark, Farhadi ratchets up the tension, and the pic becomes a
mystery thriller of sorts that epitomizes the
Sir Walter Scott quote
Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive." Adam Eisenberg in his review from
Tribeca Film Festival called
About Elly: "a mirror of sorts to
Michelangelo Antonioni's stylistic revolution ''
L'Avventura." And wrote: "Here the contrast between Farhadi and Antonioni is perhaps sharpest. Although L'Avventura'' is certainly cinematic with its relationship between images and themes, ... In Farhadi's world, cold glances, a husband's demand for more tea, and tearful rage, are all comments, not symbols, on a culture where telling the truth is often not the best option. It's a culture that lends itself to suspense, and Farhadi might have more in common with
Hitchcock, than the Iranian New Wave he emerges from." Christopher Bourne, upon seeing the film at the
Tribeca Film Festival, said: "The brilliance of Farhadi's script and direction (his efforts earned him the Silver Bear for best director at this year's Berlin Film Festival) becomes most apparent in the latter stages of the film. As one secret after another is revealed, Farhadi deftly maps out the shifts in the perceptions and behavior of the characters toward each other as well as the viewer's perception of the characters." Lee Marshall of
Screen Daily called the film "One of the most remarkable Iranian films to surface in the last few years" and added: "About Elly is a small but compelling ensemble piece of surprising depth. It's one of those rare films that can be read on one level purely as a satisfying drama, but which also has a rich, independent inner life, centered on big questions about right and wrong, social coercion and the lies people tell themselves and each other." ==Accolades==