Obtaining a divorce proves challenging for a woman in modern day Israel who by rabbinical law requires her husband's consent in this evocative drama. The film benefits greatly from the daring decision to set the film entirely in court despite the story taking place over months and years. Without external scenes to dissipate the tension, 'Gett' quickly becomes nail-bitingly intense. It also places us very much in the shoes of the rabbinical panel presiding over the case who only ever see what is presented to them in court, not what happens between the couple outside. This also means that we are given precious little insight into why exactly she wants the divorce; almost all the character witnesses call her husband an honorable man, and he does not beat or neglect her, however, the point of the film is not why she wants the divorce but the difficulty of getting one and it is actually refreshing how the film does not dwell on the negatives of their marriage. What does not quite work so well is only revealing towards the end why the husband is so reluctant to divorce her. We are positioned to see him as a stubborn and arrogant individual for the most part, whereas the film gets a whole lot more interesting when we actually come to understand his reasoning. Whatever the case, the overall film leaves an indelible impact that is hard to shake; it is emotionally draining in the best possible way.
