Themes: Arranged Marriages, Race Relations, Immigrant Life
Main Cast: Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson, Naeema Begum, Lana Rahman
Release Year: 2007
Country: UK
Run Time: 101 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG13
Plot
Director Sarah Gavron and screenwriter Abi Morgan team to adapt author Monica Ali's award-winning novel about a young girl from Bangladesh who finds the spark in her soul slowly fading after traveling to London for an arranged marriage. As a child, Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) was always told that she was a survivor. Now, as a young adult, she is leaving behind her mother and sister to start a new life in London's East End. Married to a man she has never met and relocated from her quaint village to a working-class Brick Lane neighborhood, the newlywed Nazneen does her best to be a devoted wife and loving mother. It's a lonely life, and as Nazneen's pompous, ineffectual husband, Chanu (Satish Kaushik), does his best to fit into British society, the bored housewife finds herself increasingly drawn to hotheaded neighbor Karim (Christopher Simpson). It isn't long before the relationship between Nazneen and Karim turns romantic, and in the wake of 9/11, the pair realize that they are intimately bound together by their political beliefs as well. Karim is fast becoming a radical and so, perhaps, is Nazneen. Meanwhile, back in Bangladesh, Nazneen's beloved sister Hasina (Zafreen) embarks on a series of life-altering adventures. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
The film tells the story of a woman named Nazneen, a Bengali girl who grew up in rural Bangladesh, in the district of Mymensingh[2], and she moves to London in Brick Lane at the age of 17, with her husband Chanu Ahmed, who is twice her age and was wedded to her in an arranged marriage.[3] On doing this she leaves behind her sister and her home. Married to a man she does not love, she receives letters from her sister about her carefree life, living vicariously through those letters. The film picks up the story with the couple having lived in a small flat for 18 years and having had two daughters. Nazneen is filled with desire when a young, good-looking clothing worker visits her house and she has an affair with him.[4] The movie is set during the 9/11 period when racial tensions were heightened,[5] and the Bengali community was becoming increasingly religious including the character Karim.
Casting and production
Tannishtha Chatterjee was the first actress that auditioned for the role of Nazneen. She was finally cast two months after her initial audition after Gavron saw several hundred other girls for the part. Both Christopher Simpson and Chatterjee studied the Bangladeshi culture in Brick Lane by following around locals. Satish Kaushik was cast at the last moment after Gavron saw a picture of him on the Internet. Since Brick Lane was his first English language film, he took lessons from a diction coach to improve his accent. Many residents of Brick Lane appear on the film and some members of crew were also from the local area. The film's winter scenes were shot in the middle of a heat wave in Summer 2006, necessitating the use of artificial snow. Portions of the film were shot in West Bengal.[6]
Reception
Brick Lane was well received by most critics, earning a 63% favourable rating on Rotten Tomatoes[7] and a rating of 61/100 on Metacritic.[8]Roger Ebert praised the film's characters for their "depth and reality",[9] although several critics such as Robert Koehler of Variety compared it unfavourably with the novel.[10] Although the film was critically acclaimed and the novel was an award-winning best seller,[11] the film caused controversy among numbers of the Bangladeshi community in London. They objected to comments made by the character Chanu that portrayed the Bangladeshi community as backward and uneducated. On 31 July 2006, a protest was held in Brick Lane by 120 British Bangladeshis.[12] As a result of the controversy surrounding the film, a planned screening for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was canceled.[13]
Sarah Gavron was nominated for a BAFTA award and both Tannishtha Chatterjee and Sarah Gavron were nominated for a BIFA for the best actress and best director in 2007. The film won a Silver Hitchcock and best screenplay at the Dinard Festival of British Cinema.[14]
DVD release
The film was released in the UK on 16 November 2007, and in the US by Sony Picture Classics in limited release on June 20, 2008. The DVD Region 2 release occurred on 10 March 2008 and the Region 1 DVD of the film was released on 13 January 2009.
