Review of Brick Lane (2007) by Dave J — 17 Dec 2007

I found this a thoughtful, sensitive and entertaining story of love and cultural differences, admirably offering some hope while avoiding simple solutions. Tannishtha Chatterjee is great as the central character Nazneen, and (unlike some others here) I really liked Satish Kaushik as her frequently foolish but well-meaning husband.

It would have been so easy to make the husband in this arranged marriage a bullying monster, but instead we see that both spouses are struggling against others' unrealistic expectations. I haven't read the book so can't comment on whether the film does it justice, but taken purely as a film I think Brick Lane is a fine piece of work.