Review of Brick Lane (2007) by Walter M — 26 Oct 2009

In "Brick Lane," Nazneen(Tannishtha Chatterjee) has been living in London for the past sixteen years since the suicide of her mother and an arranged marriage at the age of seventeen that brought her from her native Bangladesh. Her husband(Satish Kaushik) is an aging, overweight university professor up for a promotion who talks a lot, never letting his wife get a word in, and with the exception of a late scene, says little. Even with two teenaged daughters, their marriage is loveless and he is incensed when she brings in clothes to sew for extra money.

More soap opera than feminist or political, "Brick Lane" is a slight, yet sincere and well-meaning, movie about the nature of national identity. The movie takes place in the recent past at a key moment in history when Nazneen has been in London long enough when any sort of culture shock has faded but still remains homesick for her native land where her troubled younger sister still resides and is torn between identifying as either Muslim or Bangladeshi. Both daughters, born in London, feel differently of course. To highlight the cultural differences, the squalor of inner city London with its racists cannot compare to the lush fields of Bangladesh.