Plot

In this docudrama based on true events, a mid-'80s Michigan housewife finds her life turned upside down when a vacation to Tehran with her Iranian husband turns into virtual imprisonment for her and her young daughter. Betty Mahmoody (Sally Field) is reluctant to visit the wartorn homeland of her doctor husband, Moody (Alfred Molina). But, depressed about the racism of the American medical establishment and pining for contact with his family, Moody convinces her to join him for a two-week jaunt. The Islamic fundamentalism and strange customs of Iran bewilder and frighten Betty and her daughter, Mahtob (Sheila Rosenthal). But nothing prepares her for Moody's announcement that the family will be remaining in Tehran indefinitely. Despite beatings and more pervasive psychological control from her husband and his relatives, Betty makes it to the Swiss embassy (there is no American ambassador at the time). There, she learns that as the wife of an Iranian, she is now automatically considered a citizen and that she has absolutely no parental rights over Mahtob in this country. Betty then endures several years as a virtual prisoner, escaping only with the help of Westernized Iranian friends. Based on the book by the real-life Mahmoody and William Hoffer, Not Without My Daughter was coincidentally released during the long build-up to 1991's Gulf War. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Review

This deeply xenophobic film hews closely to the movie-of-the-week formula, allowing talented to but erratic actress Sally Field to succumb to every predictable pathos as her character fights for the right to leave the country to which she and her daughter have been virtually kidnapped. Regardless of the actual facts in the real-life case of Betty Mahmoody, surely director Brian Gilbert and screenwriter David W. Rintels could have tried a little harder to place the actions of Mahmoody's husband in context instead of portraying him as an evil Arab willing to marry and settle down in America for years and simply wait for the chance to whisk his wife away on a "vacation" back home. In a bit of Gandhi-style casting, half-Spanish, half-Italian actor Alfred Molina struggles nobly to give this underwritten character depth; perhaps an actual Persian actor would have succeeded. In any case, no single performance could save Not Without My Daughter from its reactionary script, disturbingly one-sided viewpoint, and distorted picture of modern Iran. By all accounts, the plight of American women taken aback by their loss of rights once they've married into another culture is a real issue, one that's rarely investigated in print or onscreen. Unfortunately, this film offers neither insight nor context -- merely propaganda and several moments of unintentional camp. ~ Brian J. Dillard, Rovi

Cast

• Sally Field - Betty Mahmoody
• Alfred Molina - Moody
• Sheila Rosenthal - Mahtob
• Roshan Seth - Houssein
• Sarah Badel - Nicole

Mony Rey - Ameh Bozorg; Georges Corraface - Mohsen; Daphna Armoni - Koran Teacher; Yacov Banai - Aga Hakim; Gili Ben-Ozilio - Fereshte; Racheli Chaimian - Zoreh; Jonathan Cherchi - Mammal; Bruce Evers - Doctor; Soudabeh Farrokhnia - Nasserine; Sasson Gabay - Hamid; Marc Gowan - Doctor; Ed Grady - Grandpa; Ahuva Keren - Miss Nassimi; Michael Morim - Zia; Avraham Morr - Hormoz; Mary Rey - Ameh Bozorg; Judith Robinson - Ellen; Mary Nell Santacroce - Grandma; Amir Shmuel - Baba Hajji; Yossi Tabib - Reza; Farzaneh Taidi - Khanun Shaheen; Yerusha Tirosh - Mahtob's Teacher; Shaul Mizrahi - Iranian Soldier; Shay Griffin; Dalia Hovers; Joyce Gallie; Judy Taylor; Mike Fenton; Joseph Shiloach - Mohsen's Companion

Credit

Avi Avivi - Art Director, Desmond Crowe - Art Director, Joe Litsche - Art Director, Anthony Waye - Associate Producer, Joyce Gallie - Casting, Judy Taylor - Casting, Mike Fenton - Casting, Nic Ede - Costume Designer, Brian Gilbert - Director, Terry Rawlings - Editor, Jerry Goldsmith - Composer (Music Score), Bob Smith - Camera Operator, Anthony Pratt - Production Designer, Peter Hannan - Cinematographer, Harry Ufland - Producer, Mary Jane Ufland - Producer, Shlomo Zafir - Set Designer, David W. Rintels - Screenwriter, William Hoffer - Book Author, Betty Mahmoody - Book Author

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