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'Brick Lane' worth a saunter

By Mina Hochberg | Special to amNewYork

June 20, 2008

Despite a derivative, nuance-deprived story, "Brick Lane" can at least rely on a plot with intrinsic allure -- the unhappy housewife who starts a love affair in a quest for her own source of happiness. In this case, the love affair is contexualized by looming themes of home and cultural identity, abstracted from the originating novel by Monica Ali.

A Bangladeshi woman Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) is married off at a young age after her mother commits suicide. Her husband, Chanu (Satish Kaushik), brings her to London, where they raise two daughters in a brick apartment complex populated by other Bangladeshis.

Life isn't so grand with the eternally optimistic Chanu, who likes to talk the talk but can't seem to launch a real career. So with her proud husband's reluctant approval, Nazneen supplements their income with a work-from-home job, which involves a young, boyishly handsome romantic named Karim (Christopher Simpson), who drops off materials for her to sew.

After a few brushings of skin and intensely exchanged glances, the affair is consummated.

Throughout the film, Nazneen daydreams about her childhood in Bangladesh, with scenes starring her happy adolescent self on constant replay in her head. Clearly, by the film's end, her longing for home will either be fulfilled or completely turned on its head.

The path she takes to reach that end is probably an interesting one in the book, but on film, Nazneen and her decisions are painted in strokes too broad to infuse her story with any sort of noteworthiness. Her inner life is muffled by a stream of melodramatic flourishes, making it difficult to parse the finer difficulties of her situation.

In all, though, the movie is a passable alternative for anyone looking for a summer flick that doesn't involve guns and green superheroes.

Brick Lane
Directed by Sarah Gavron
Starring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Satish Kaushik, Christopher Simpson