Review of Brick Lane (2007) by Dale F — 16 Jan 2009
A beautiful film, beautifully told. Nasneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is a young woman, sent to England by her father in Bangladesh to marry Chanu (Christopher Simpson). Raising two daughters, exchanging letters with her sister back home, and tending to her husband are all she knows until a series of encounters open Nasneen to a world of other possibilities.
It is a story about finding and experiencing many different kinds of love and making choices when it seems that there are no choices left. Ms Chatterjee is a quiet exotic beauty who brought just the right amount of religious devotion and worldly curiosity mixed with caution to her role.
Mr Simpson played the eternally optimistic Chanu with a joyfulness mixed with naivete that the role required. The two young girls, torn between the requirements of their religion, the obligations of family, and their desire to fit in brought another level of conflict within the family dynamic that played true.
The clash of cultures even within the seemingly monolithic Islamic enclave pervaded the film but never descended into caricature nor did it gloss over the competing passions of the community. A joy to behold.
This review of Brick Lane (2007) was written by Dale F on 16 Jan 2009.
Brick Lane has generally received mixed reviews.
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