The New York Times called it "torture porn." But audiences at the Los Angeles Film Festival had a different take; they named the controversial film "Best Feature" at the gathering.

Dennis Prager writing at Townhall has some thoughts about the film and conservative complaints about Hollywood:

Yet, now, released as if by Providence the week after the fraudulent elections in Iran and the suppression and murder of Iranian dissidents, is a film about the nature of the radical Muslims who govern Iran. Titled "The Stoning of Soraya M.," the film depicts events based on the true story of a woman stoned to death in a rural village in Iran in 1986 for allegedly committing adultery.

If you want to understand the type of people who run Iran, see this film. If you want to understand why men and women risk their lives to demonstrate against the fascist theocracy that rules Iran, see this film. The film is about the type of people who become "supreme leader" (Ali Khamanei) or president of Iran (Mahmoud Ahmadinejad). It is about their mendacity, their use of religion to commit barbarity, and, of course, their despicable treatment of women.

[...]

Many of us lament Hollywood's lack of courage, its lack of moral seriousness, and its political correctness. Here, then, is a courageous, morally deep, and politically incorrect film that mainstream reviewers -- as cited above -- have lavished praise on. It should be the ideal film for serious Americans who properly complain about Hollywood's offerings. But if a riveting drama with a courageous theme, Oscar-level acting, which is as relevant as today's headlines, fails at the box office, Hollywood will have been vindicated.

It therefore seems clear to me that those who do not see this film have forfeited the right to complain about Hollywood.