Brick Lane (2007)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Sarah Gavron

Writers:

Monica Ali (novel)
Laura Jones (writer)

Release Date:

16 November 2007 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

A young Bangladeshi woman, Nazneem, arrives in 1980s London, leaving behind her beloved sister and home...

Plot Keywords:

Bangladesh | Arranged Marriage | Letter Writing | Immigrant | September 11 2001

Awards:

3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Tannishtha Chatterjee	...	Nazneen Ahmed
Satish Kaushik	...	Chanu Ahmed
Christopher Simpson	...	Karim
Naeema Begum	...	Rukshana 'Shahna' Ahmed
Lana Rahman	...	Bibi Ahmed
Lalita Ahmed	...	Mrs. Islam
Harvey Virdi	...	Razia
Zafreen	...	Hasina
Harsh Nayyar	...	Dr. Azad
Abdul Nlephaz Ali	...	Tariq
Bijal Chandaria	...	Shefali
Mohammed Ahsan	...	Meeting Chairman
Josh Ali	...	Meeting Secretary
Raha Ahmed	...	First Speaker at Meeting
Abed Hakim	...	Second Speaker at Meeting

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexuality and brief strong language.

Runtime:

102 min | Canada:101 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

UK | India

Language:

English | Bengali

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Canada:14A | Ireland:15A | USA:PG-13 | Singapore:NC-16 | Australia:M | UK:15 | Mexico:B

Filming Locations:

Brick Lane, Shoreditch, London, England, UK

Company:

Film4

Quotes:

Nazneen Ahmed: No one told me there are different kinds of love. The kind that starts deep and slowly wears away; that seems you will never use it up and then one day it is finished. Then there is the kind you do not notice at first but which adds a little bit to itself every day like an oyster makes a pearl, grain by grain, a jewel from the sand. That is the kind I have come to know.

Movie Connections:

Features Brief Encounter (1945)

Soundtrack:

Omar Sonar Bangla

Fresh and feminine

So many British films are costume dramas or gangster movies that it's a real pleasure to see a work that focuses on the modern and very real challenges of an immigrant community. Where "East Is East" dealt with a Pakistani family and "Bend It Like Beckham" had an Indian focus, "Brick Lane" - based on the Booker-nominated novel by Monica Ali - addresses the life of a teenage girl from a village in Bangladesh (scenes actually shot in a beautiful-looking India) who is married off to a much older compatriot living in the eponymous area of east London.

So much is fresh and feminine here: most of the roles are for women and newcomer Tannishta Chatterjee, as the central character Nazneen, is excellent, often conveying so much simply with her eyes; Sarah Gavron is assured in her first directing role; the writing credits go to Ali herself and two other women; while the original score comes from Jocelyn Pook and the haunting singing from Natacha Atlas. This is a measured and intimate work that is more about different types of love and religion than it is about the Bangaleshi community itself.