'Brick Lane' is a path to angst, frustration
By Phil Villarreal
Pvillarreal@azstarnet.com
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 07.24.2008
Based on a Monica Ali novel, "Brick Lane" is a depressing and slow-moving portrait of a woman enduring a dysfunctional, arranged marriage.
A Bangladeshi teen, Nazneem (Tannishtha Chatterjee), is sent to London in the 1980s to live with her husband, the much older authoritarian Chanu (Satish Kaushik in the film's richest role). She writes letters to the sister she left behind, who speaks of passionate love affairs.
Nazneem's occupation, other than raising her kids and getting her delusional, unappreciative husband out of financial jams, is longing. She spends her time staring off into the distance, just wondering what's out there or what could have been. UB40's "Something More Than This" may as well play as a loop as the film's score. Director Sarah Gavron explores Nazneem's plight through a series of insightful but oppressive vignettes.
Excitement enters Nazneem's life — and the film — in the form of Karim (Christopher Simpson), a Muslim activist who preaches unity and brotherhood in the wake of rampant stereotyping following 9/11.
Chanu, a torrent of frustration who seems to be no more happy with the union than his wife is, confronts Karim in a memorable scene that packs a spark the rest of the film lacks.
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