Don't expect too many surprises from this low-key story of a Bangladeshi woman who learns to stand on her own two feet after years of stultifying arranged marriage.
Comment
11/15/07
Brick Lane (2008)
65
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:93
Fresh:60
Rotten:33
Average Rating:6.1/10
Consensus: Frustratingly slow-moving, but ultimately saved by Chatterjee's solid acting and Gavron's gentle patience.
Theatrical Release:16-11-2007
Synopsis: Nazneen’s life is turned upside down at the tender age of seventeen,. Forced into an arranged marriage to an older man, she exchanges her Bangladeshi village home for a block of flats in London’s... [More]
Starring: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson, Naeema Begum
Director: Sarah Gavron
Reviews for Brick Lane
Top CriticRich and subtle in its characterisation, Brick Lane is an enlightening tale about the breadth and depth of ordinary lives, how they intersect with history, and where they remain hidden away.
11/15/07
Top CriticAlthough well-acted and heartfelt, it provokes shrugged shoulders rather than the tears it’s clearly striving for.
11/16/07
The romance at the heart of Brick Lane never comes alive. Chatterjee is doleful and weepy, Simpson enervated.
11/16/07
Top CriticThe daily grind of a Brick Lane Bangladeshi is credibly brought to life in this sensitive and intelligent adaptation of Monica Ali’s novel.
11/14/07
Top CriticThe film is full of fabrics and shimmer and embroiderings of light and colour, giving a slender story the shy blush of art.
11/15/07
Gavron's movie finds an unfashionably gentle, human optimism in the face of all this, and a sympathetic performance from Chatterjee makes it plausible.
11/16/07
Top CriticUnderwhelming.
11/16/07
It's a hard heart that isn't immersed by this delicately told tale.
11/14/07
Based on Monica Ali's bestselling novel, this is an insightful look at a woman searching across cultural barriers for a place to belong. Not only is it a strong story, but it's great to see such an involving film set in London's Asian-Muslim community.
09/06/07
Tannishtha Chatterjee perfectly captures the emotional awakening of shy heroine Nazneen.
11/16/07
Monica Ali’s sensitive sprawling text about a Bangledeshi wife (Chatterjee) forced into an east London marriage gets a sanded-down blandification as it makes its lurch onto the big screen.
11/16/07
Quietly effective, acted with resource and directed with the kind of patient skill it needs.
11/15/07
Gavron cleverly outlines the closed-in boundaries of Nazneen’s Brick Lane.
11/14/07
Top CriticThe kind of meaningless middlebrow sludge that passes for “quality movie-making” in some of the more conservative sectors of the British film industry
11/15/07
Top CriticMonica Ali’s best-selling debut novel about life in London’s Bangladeshi quarter gets a sensitive treatment from director Sarah Gavron, deftly condensing its sprawling narrative without sacrificing colour or texture.
11/14/07
Top CriticBrick Lane is beautifully shot and superbly acted but the story is slow-moving and ultimately rather uneventful.
11/15/07
No new ground is explored, however, in this handsomely constructed film. Nazneen's story seems familiar every step of the way.
06/17/08
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.
07/24/08
... an intriguing and visually interesting film that in aggregate never escapes the genre ghetto. It is another immigration song, a glancing curiosity that never really penetrates our preconceived romantic illusions.
09/12/08
Latest News for Brick Lane
January 23, 2009:
A movie whose visuals are lovely to behold and lyrically awash in sensuality and desire, but sets the lives of women back at least a few centuries. 
More...
January 19, 2009:
A movie whose visuals are lovely to behold and lyrically awash in sensuality and desire, but sets the lives of women back at least a few centuries.
More...
June 19, 2008:
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This week at the movies, we've got wacky spies (Get Smart, starring Steve Carell and Anne Hathaway) and silly self-help specialists (The Love Guru starring Mike Myers and... More...
June 18, 2008:
Arranged marriage at center of cross-cultural drama set in London.
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