Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageBrick Lane (2007)
Director: Sarah Gavron
Movie review
From Time Out London
Director Sarah Gavron is thoroughly polite in her adaptation of Monica Ali’s much-loved novel. So polite that this graceful tale of lives lived day-by-day, millimetre-by-millimetre, comes off as oddly flat-footed and modest in its lack of drama. In Bangladesh in the ’80s, Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is a thoughtful teenager dispatched to an east London estate to marry a frog-faced man twice her age. Skip to 2001, and Nazneen is a mother of two whose narrow world expands a little when she takes a job stitching-up clothes for the rag trade. Soon, she’s having an affair with a younger man, Karim (Christopher Simpson).
Gavron cleverly outlines the closed-in boundaries of Nazneen’s Brick Lane. She only leaves the house to shop, she tells Karim. When her teenage daughter, Shahana (Naeema Begum), storms out one evening, she chases after her, past the beered-up lads and curry houses, across to Liverpool Street. The steel and glass of the City is just a five-minute walk away from home but might as well be Gotham. The crunch comes after the attacks on the World Trade Center, amid the drum-beat for war and the backlash against Britain’s Muslims. The film is oddly timid on this point. We hear of girls having their hijabs yanked off in the street and British Bengalis being abused but we see nothing more than a rallying cry at a community meeting. Meanwhile, Nazneen’s turbulent domestic troubles come to pass with very little trouble indeed. But despite the film’s lack of energy, the warmth of Ali's characters remains: Chatterjee is watchful and expressive as Nazneen while Satish Kaushik steals the show as her husband, with his self-important fondness for quoting from the greats of philosophy and literature. Watching his Del Boy conviction that this time next year we’ll all be millionaires (or in his case promoted by his boss at the council) is awful but awfully funny. Still, you can’t help thinking the sprawl and subtleties of Ali’s novel would be better served by television.
Author: Cath Clarke
Time Out London Issue 1943: November 14-20 2007
User reviews of this film
-
- Ken said...
- Posted on Dec 13 2007 21:47 A bit of a disappointment although occasionally moving. I wonder what Monica Ali thinks about what the film makers have done with her truly remarkable book.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Fayyaz said...
- Posted on Dec 01 2007 18:57 I watched this film and was disappointed. I am a Pakistani and I can appreciate these problems. This film is quite successful in showing dullness of life in Council Flats but something seems missing. Other films on Asian Community had something special even though they annoyed many from our community. Brick Lane lacked both laughters and tears and it didn't annoy anyone. The story seemed to me 'a married woman fell in love with a young guy because her husband was a boring sod. She left the guy and came back to her husband who proved to be a loser and decides to goes back home despite the fact that his family decides to stay behind'. I'LL HAVE TO READ THE BOOK NOW TO SEE IF IT WAS THE DIRECTOR WHO HAD MADE IT LIKE THIS OR THE BOOK WAS DULL TOO.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- nafeeAnam said...
- Posted on Nov 30 2007 19:23 I wanna go 2 watch this movi about 2-3 days latter...what a fillings!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Roshan said...
- Posted on Nov 22 2007 21:34 Being a Bengali, and having lived similar experiences once upon a time, this film portrayed each and every second 'as real as it gets'. Superbly portrayed and superbly acted in all its subtleties...the review has missed these. The film portrays the other side of life, behind closed doors, hardly exposed but real enough. This is not just a story, but a reality.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- melanie said...
- Posted on Nov 22 2007 15:24 It is a beautiful film with great performances. Especailly Tannishtha Chatterjee.In todays time we have forgotten nuanced and sensitive potrayls and this the reveiwer misses the whole point. It is a not a film about 9/11 and thank God for that.It is a film about love in a stressful world of human struggle.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- sage ó the 'hood said...
- Posted on Nov 22 2007 10:08 TimeOut review is too harsh. Admittedly not the greatest made movie but still very enjoyable and worth watching
- Report as inappropriate
-
- zara said...
- Posted on Nov 21 2007 12:57 the film is much better than the book. and Tannishtha Chatterjee is great! Its such a difficult role to carry and she does so well.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- nafeeAnam said...
- Posted on Nov 20 2007 16:52 I will be watch this movie...must be...!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Alice said...
- Posted on Nov 20 2007 13:54 This film is moving and beautifully acted highly visual. A must see.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Indra said...
- Posted on Nov 19 2007 20:08 It takes a special kind of director to turn such a vibrant controversial book, into such a dull film. A waste of time.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- steve said...
- Posted on Nov 05 2007 17:28 very sensitively told story. Great performances especially the lead protagonsit tannishtha Chatterjee whose eye comminicates more than any6 wrods can
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Tim said...
- Posted on Nov 05 2007 10:03 Visually stunning and emotive story
- Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Sarah Gavron
Producer: Alison Owen, Christopher Collins
Cast: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson, Harvey Virdi, Lalita Ahmed, Naeema Begum, Lana Rahman full cast
Genre(s): Drama
Rated: 15
Duration: 102 mins
UK Release: Nov 16 2007
US Release: Jun 20 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Martin Provost discusses 'Séraphine'
Trevor Johnston talks to the director of 'Séraphine' about bringing a little known French painter back to life
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Stephen Poliakoff discusses 'Glorious 39'
Stephen Poliakoff’s ‘Glorious 39’ is his first film for cinema since ‘Food of Love’ in 1997. Dave Calhoun met him
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
Steven Soderbergh on 'The Informant!' and 'The Girlfriend Experience'
We talk to Steven Soderbergh about his two forthcoming films: one featuring a porn star, the other a chubby Matt Damon
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now