20 Anxiety-Inducing Moments That'll Terrify You Senseless

In our everyday lives, some of the most stressful moments we'll ever experience are personal conflicts, and Iranian director Asghar Farhadi leant into this with his masterpiece A Separation. He crafted a realistic family drama film and executed it with the frenetic energy of a Safdie Brothers joint, resulting in a ferociously intense drama that'll grab you by the throat and never let go.

The movie's climax concerns a settlement that a divorcing couple are being forced to pay. The husband, Nader (Peyman Moaadi), has been accused of causing his father's carer Razieh (Sareh Bayat) to suffer a miscarriage when he pushed her, and he's going to pay off Razieh and her volatile husband Hodjat (Shahab Hosseini) in order to avoid prison. Hodjat is determined to get money for his cash-strapped family. 

The trouble is, as Razieh admits near the end, she was actually hit by a car and isn't certain that Nader did cause the miscarriage. When the stubborn Nader asks Razieh, a devoutly religious woman, to swear on the Quran that he was responsible, she cannot bring herself to do it.  

It's an exploding pressure-cooker of an ending that features Oscar-worthy acting from every member of its cast, and it doesn't get any less stressful on repeat viewings either. As this movie proves, you don't always need a big set-piece to create tension. Sometimes, all you need is a great cast and beautifully written drama to realize the palpable horror of everyday disputes.