Film

Even if you haven’t read the well-received novel—about a quiet Bangladeshi woman in contemporary London who blossoms through an extramarital affair—on which this film is based, you’ll recognize that whiff of “tasteful, sensuous literary adaptation.” That’s not to say the film is bad. Gavron understands that in the most interesting romantic triangles, there are no easy villains.

Clearly we’re meant to sympathize with the plight of Nazneen (Chatterjee), who misses her long-dead mother and hasn’t seen her younger sister in years. She’s married to Chanu (Kaushik), an older man who loves to show off his education in the British classics. Our hearts beat a little faster when, facing economic hardship, Nazneen makes the bold move of taking in sewing on a piecework basis. And when she starts an affair with the smoldering hunk (Simpson) who delivers the sewing, it feels like a liberation. This is all moving, but it’s frankly an upscale version of a Harlequin romance with a bit of topicality thrown in (post–September 11 xenophobia figures prominently in the second half).

The film is at its most interesting in the portrayal of Chanu, who starts off seeming like a stock buffoon but increasingly draws our sympathy. Gavron doesn’t quite know what to do with this complication of our allegiances, but it suggests a richer story not quite told.