Plot
In 1984, Iranian physician Sayyed Bozorg "Moody" Mahmoody lives a quiet, happy life in the United States with his American wife, Betty, and their young daughter, Mahtob. Moody tells Betty his family wants to meet her and Mahtob, and asks them to accompany him for a two-week visit to Iran. Despite her deep fears, Betty reluctantly agrees after Moody promises they will safely return to America.
Upon their arrival, Moody and Mahtob are embraced, while Betty's unfamiliarity with the Islamic lifestyle inadvertently offends some members of Moody's family. One evening, Moody reveals he had been fired from the hospital two days prior to their departure, telling Betty he was often mocked and ridiculed by the American staff there. Betty promises they will rectify the situation when they get home.
The night before their flight back to the United States, Moody's brother Mammal tells them that in order for them to get on their flight, their passports should have been taken to the airport for approval three days ago. When Betty insists they go to the airport anyway, Moody reveals he never intended for them to return, and that they will remain in Iran permanently where he will continue working as a doctor. When Betty protests, Moody becomes enraged and strikes her. Betty tries to earn sympathy from Moody's family, but is scorned by them.
Iran's war with Iraq continues, and Moody becomes more hostile and abusive towards Betty, preventing her from leaving the house or using the telephone, claiming his family are watching her all the time. One day, Betty answers a phone call from her mother and reveals she is trapped in Iran. Her mother tells her to seek help from the American Interests Section of the Swiss Embassy. Betty sneaks out of the house and visits the embassy, but is told that under Iran's nationality law, she acquired Iranian citizenship upon her marriage to Moody and thus is not entitled to consular protection. Because Iran is an Islamic republic governed by sharia law, Betty cannot leave the country or make decisions concerning her daughter without her husband's permission. Moody, alarmed by Betty's absence from the house, threatens to kill her if she tries anything again.
Betty begins to conform to her husband's wishes in order to gain his trust, and convinces him they should move into Mammal's home. During a trip to the market, Betty meets a kind, sympathetic storekeeper who allows her to use his telephone and overhears her plea for help to the Swiss Embassy. He puts her in contact with a pair of humanitarian Iranians, Hossein and his sister, who offer to help Betty and Mahtob return to the United States. Betty accepts Hossein's assistance after he warns her that when Mahtob turns nine years old, she could be at risk of being forced into marriage or drafted as a child soldier.
Mahtob does not adjust to her new Iranian school and has to be accompanied by Betty. The female staff sympathise with their situation and allow her to bring Mahtob to school later than normal; Betty uses this time to meet with Hossein, and they discuss an escape route. One morning when she and Mahtob arrive at school, Moody is there waiting for them and viciously attacks Betty, as well as striking Mahtob. They have no choice but to return home with Moody; he separates the two of them for a few nights to taunt Betty.
Six months later, Betty learns that her father is seriously ill. Moody tells her she can return to America to see him, but will not let Mahtob go with her. He orders her to liquidate their assets while there, then return to Iran. Knowing she is running out of time, Betty and Mahtob leave the house, on the pretence of going to buy presents for her father, while Moody is called to the hospital for an emergency. They go to Hossein, who supplies Betty and Mahtob with fake identity documents, and they make their way past many checkpoints with Iranian smugglers.
After several days, Betty and Mahtob are dropped off in a street in Ankara, where they see the flag of the American Embassy in the distance. Betty and Mahtob retreat safely to the United States, where Betty goes on to become a successful author and dedicates herself to helping those in similar situations.
Release and reception
Box office
The movie debuted poorly and grossed less than $15 million in ticket sales in the United States and Canada. [3] The movie plummeted in its second week. [4] Internationally, it grossed $28 million for a worldwide total of $43 million. [5]
Critical response
As of December 2022, the film holds an approval rating of 53% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews. [6]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times wrote: "Here is a perplexing and frustrating film, which works with great skill to involve our emotions, while at the same time making moral and racial assertions that are deeply troubling." He stated that it "does not play fair with its Muslim characters. If a movie of such a vitriolic and spiteful nature were to be made in America about any other ethnic group, it would be denounced as racist and prejudiced. ...Yet I recommend that the film be seen, for two reasons. One reason is because of the undeniable dramatic strength of its structure and performances; it is impossible not to identify with this mother and her daughter, and Field is very effective as a brave, resourceful woman who is determined to free herself and her daughter from involuntary captivity. The second reason is harder to explain. I think the movie should be seen because it is an invitation to thought." [7]
While Iranians are not shown in a completely negative light, as the film depicts generous and brave Iranians who contact Betty Mahmoody and arrange for the escape of her and her daughter, these "good" Iranians are high-born opponents of the Islamic Republic regime, shown listening to European classical music. [8] In 2016, Gazelle Emami of Vulture, reflecting on the 25 years since the film's release, concluded that Not Without My Daughter had become known for making American women more apprehensive towards dating or marrying Iranian men. [9]
The score by Jerry Goldsmith was also not well received. Jay Boyar of the Orlando Sentinel called it "TV-movie manipulative", [10] while Jason Ankeny of AllMusic wrote, "Jerry Goldsmith's score does little to refute its opponents' charges of racism." [11]
