Brick Lane score massively as being one of the only films to be about the Pakistani experience in the UK. British cinema is woefully lax when it comes to actually documenting the greatest social change since the Norman Conquest, that of colonial immigration. There has yet to be a generational film of the Caribbean experience, or Indian etc; Films of that type tend to be about the impact but not the experience; here we get a much better and more interesting perspective, there is barely a nod to those outside the group and the film is better and stronger for it.The plot of the Bangladeshi family who are at best dysfunctional is portrayed realistically. Their daily struggles on an East London estate are beautifully done: all the parts especially the relationship between the two adults are clearly thought through and there is a complexity to their characters that visibly grows as the film progresses: she is not just a mouse, and he is not just a buffoon. I would recommend this to anyone who appreciates good drama - it really is one of the more satisfying films I have seen in British cinema of the decade - and I personally think more films exploring these different facets of Britishness is no bad thing at all.

BRICK LANE is one of the more satisfying films about our remaining cultural identity crises. Based on the novel by Monica Ali and adapted for the screen by Laura Jones, this film flows through the lives of young Bangladeshi sisters - one married off to a successful older obese fellow countryman living in London and the other remaining in the family village. The story is at once sensitively private in its communication between the separated sisters whose sole communication is by letters, each longing for the other sister's advantages, and also woven into a public examination of how 'immigrants' adapt in a foreign country, absorbing all the idiosyncrasies of that new land and the altered perception of the world outside as it changes in dramatic ways. Nazeem (the radiantly beautiful Tannishtha Chatterjee) is married by arrangement to the fat successful Chanu (Satish Kaushik): the two take up residence on the Brick Lane known as London's Little Bangladesh. Nazeem is a quiet and dutiful wife (longing for her sister and her village home), bears Chanu a son (who dies a crib death) and two daughters who comfortably are absorbed into the country of England, the only home they know. The aging Chanu is intelligent but fails to hold jobs, partly because of this outspoken behavior and in part due to prejudice of his employers. Nazeem longs to return to Bangladesh, but when she is required to take in sewing to aid the falling family coffers, she meets the young and handsome Karim (Christopher Simpson). The two fall in love and Nazeem struggles with her duties and moral obligations as a wife and mother and her surfacing realization of her own identity. The Twin Tower tragedy of 9/11 occurs and the people of London turn against the Muslims: Karim is an activist and defends the rights of his fellow Bangladeshi brothers, hoping to encourage Nazeem to join him and remain in London. Nazeem struggles between passion and duty and ultimately finds her own path - becoming a complete woman individual of mature mind. And the results of her growth spell out the ending of the film. The cast is large and very fine, and the photography by Robbie Ryan captures both the childhood remembered magic of Bangladesh and the raw realism of life in London. The musical score by Jocelyn Pook enhances the changing moods of this touching and significant movie. Director Sarah Gavron has found the perfect balance to tell this story of love, family obligations, and the changes of the world events. It is a film well worth seeing multiple times. Grady Harp

There's some good acting, the council estates near the street of the title are well-used and the natural tensions of life in the East End of London in the noughties are used sparingly. As a backdrop to a modern romance it's got perfectly good credentials. Yet I thought Sarah Gavron worked it all too hard trying to hammer out texture and depth as if on an anvil rather than in an editing suite. Mixed-focus and dreamy close-up shots are overused into which is inserted all manner of magic-realist daydreaming whose purpose is unclear. The story is affecting enough and should have been left - perhaps with the lovely, straightforward Bangladeshi flashbacks - to sell itself.Tannishtha Chatterjee is lovely as Nazneen, not overdoing self-pity at her lot and pacing her blossoming as romance beckons. Satish Kaushik is excellent as her husband, funny but capable of the wounded pride which locks Nazneen out. Christopher Simpson is a convincing, if generic lover. When the camera is employed to get all moody it captures the East End honestly and the costuming is predictably colourful. 4/10

(contains spoiler)Okay let's see. First of all, I didn't think much of the book. The book was alright but the film is so bad that it doesn't even do justice to an okay book! The following is not a criticism of the book, rather a list of observations about the film only.1. In the book, Monica Ali (author of the book) did NOT even suggest that Nazneen was sexually frustrated before her extra-marital affair. Now, one might argue that it is safe to assume that Nazneen was indeed sexually frustrated given the circumstances and you know what, I would probably agree with that. HOWEVER, we got to ask ourselves that if it is so obvious and realistic for Nazneen to be sexually frustrated, then why didn't Monica Ali choose not to highlight it so much? She did not because she DID NOT WANT it to be just another story about a woman with an unhappy sex life which leads her to cheat on her husband etc. I guess we can give kudos to Monica Ali for that.But what about the movie? In the movie, the director has included a sex scene where she shows a completely disinterested Nazneen as her husband penetrates her. So what's the problem? The problem is that this scene gives out the impression that the dominant reason which drives Nazneen to be attracted to and have an affair with Karim is that she wants to satisfy her sexual desires. HOWEVER, that is NOT the main reason why Nazneen starts a relationship with Karim. (This brings me to the next point.) 2. Now, what is the real reason Nazneen is so attracted to Karim? Well, it is very clear in the book. Nazneen finds her husband Chanu to be a loser in life and an embarrassment. She finds her husband to be a total failure. She finds her husband to be a "weak man" and this bothers her. So when she comes across Karim, she is amazed by his smartness and his confidence. Nazneen thinks that Karim has a place in the world. She thinks Karim has great achievements (unlike her husband) and she immediately falls for it. However, as time passes, Nazneen realizes that Karim isn't really an accomplished man after all! In fact, if anything, he is much "weaker" than her husband. Therefore, it makes sense (in the book) when Nazneen tells Karim "We made each other up", in the crucial scene where she breaks the news to Karim that she doesn't want to marry him.HOWEVER, in the movie, when Karim asks Nazneen "What did you want?", the answer that Nazneen gives to Karim is "I just wanted to feel like I was at home." Now, first of all, this is NOT the reason why she got involved with Karim and secondly, how on earth would an extra-marital affair make Nazneen (a God-fearing Muslim) feel at home?? Seriously, what was the director thinking!! This is not even believable! And lastly, if all Nazneen wanted was to feel at home, then her previous comment "We made each other up" doesn't make sense.3. One of the most interesting aspects of the book was that Nazneen eventually starts to respect and perhaps even "love" her husband Chanu. Nazneen finally realizes that Chanu is actually a man of good heart and a loving and caring husband. She realizes that although Chanu can be quite self-delusional at times, he is not so stupid as she thought him to be. But most importantly, Nazneen also realizes that being a "strong man" isn't all there is to a person. And this is why, she starts to respect Chanu as a person and "love" him as her husband despite all his shortcomings.HOWEVER, the movie hardly focuses on this change that has been taking place inside Nazneen. It tries to settle it in only one scene where Chanu intellectually confronts Karim in the Islamic meeting and wins the battle. But unfortunately, it simply wasn't enough. And that is why, when Nazneen tells Chanu that she loves him, it comes out as insincere, feigned and unconvincing. It is a huge let-down when you compare it with the emotionally charged scene in the book.4. It is important to note that it wasn't only Nazneen who underwent a change. Chanu changed too! HOWEVER, the movie does NOT address this at all! Why exactly does Chanu want to leave England? What is it that is troubling him? Why can't he just "fit in" like many of his own generation? Unfortunately, the movie does NOT answer any of the above questions. Keep in mind that 9/11 only increased the tension Chanu was already feeling inside, it wasn't the cause. Chanu was struggling to reconcile the past with the present, the British colonial presence and plundering in the subcontinent with today's multicultural Britain. At the end, he realizes that he would never be able make England his home and he has to leave.5. If you've read the book, you know that Monica Ali did NOT want to make a case against arranged marriage. At the end of the day, Nazneen was certainly better off than her sister who ran off with a guy to have a "love marriage" and ended up being a prostitute. If anything, Monica Ali shows that it is possible for arranged marriages to work out and "love marriages" to go terribly wrong. Perhaps that wasn't even what she wanted to convey! Perhaps the book simply isn't about arranged vs love marriage after all! HOWEVER, the movie doesn't adequately focus on Nazneen's sister (hell it doesn't even do justice to Nazneen herself) and therefore, it once again comes off as one of those anti-arranged marriage movies.In short, the movie either ignores or fails to focus on the most interesting and unique aspects of the book. I would be pretty angry if I was Monica Ali.