Stars:
***
Rating: PG-13 for mature
themes.
Run
Time: 1
hour, 41 minutes
It’s been
done before and perhaps done better but this multi-cultural fish-out-of-water
tale hits some eloquent notes.
Introspective
teen Nazneen is forced to leave her South Indian village when her mother dies
at her own hands. Life in London is anything but idyllic as the adult Nazneen
(Tannishtha Chatterjee) is married – through arrangement – to an oafish and
idealistic Bangladeshi named Chanu (Satish Kaushik) who quits his job on
principle and promises riches galore when he ultimately lands a new gig.
Nazneen
suffers in silence, caring for a pair of spirited daughters and performing her
traditional duties on auto-pilot while desperately yearning for her homeland
and the sister she left behind.
Forced to
help make ends meet Nazneen takes in sewing and unexpectedly falls for the
British-born Bangladeshi delivery boy (Christopher Sampson as Karim) who
appears with stacks of denim jeans in need of repair.
Their
ardent affair is the centerpiece of a larger picture; the horrific 9/11
attacks, a burgeoning Muslim fundamentalism and a love than cannot be allowed
to flourish.
Director
Sarah Gavron utilizes her accoutrements with finesse – swatches of colorful
sari contrasting with London’s grey gloom, a brilliant cascade of oranges
tumbling down a rusted staircase and the sinewy glow of sexual tension.
The second
act is weighted down with harsher dramatics and emotion jockeying for prime
narrative space and creeping perilously close to cliché.
Performances
– particularly Chatterjee’s – are beautifully bittersweet; the internal British-Bangladeshi
tug of war pervading her very essence. Even the loutish Kaushik delivers a stirring
monologue on the brotherhood of Islam than renders him near-sympathetic. The handsome
Simpson’s fiery convictions are admirable – he’s easy on the eyes and more.
A sense of
isolation and struggle for identity in an oppressive culture wash away
superfluous formula, leaving a lovely tranquility in their wake.