The action of “Brick Lane” has been collapsed from a decade and a half in Monica Ali’s well-received novel to a single significant year in the movie version. Probably a smart move.
This way, we infer all the major changes that must have happened to our heroine, Nanzeen (Tannistha Chatterjee), in the intervening time. Sent from her native Bangladesh — here visualized as a green, sultry homeland — to an arranged marriage in London, Nanzeen has adjusted to the disappointments in her life.
Most of these are supplied by her husband (Satish Kaushik, wonderful performance), a man perpetually hatching plans to improve himself, but faltering badly along the way. They have two daughters, a cramped apartment, and no signs of improvement.
Nanzeen has her letters from a sister in Bangladesh, which conjure up a more adventurous path Nanzeen might have taken. And when a charming young man from the neighborhood begins coming by to deliver clothes for her sewing sideline, she begins to glimpse some kind of escape.
We should mention that the year in question is 2001, which means global events will affect the characters after Sept. 11.
“Brick Lane” gets into that as discreetly as it gets into Nanzeen’s frustrated life; director Sarah Gavron keeps the movie at the level of dignified British TV (which is where her previous experience lies).
All of this is done with intelligence, even if the values seen (homeland good, London sterile) are simplistic. This movie is so well-meaning, it doesn’t seem to really have much blood coursing through its veins.
Perhaps Gavron was trying to convey the kind of careful, muted existence that her heroine lives out, as though we were seeing the movie through Nanzeen’s eyes. An admirable goal, but one too exactly achieved.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
