Viewed: Brick Lane

The story, per se, is good of a young Bangladeshi girl coming to England as she is married to an elderly person. The only bond she has with her village is her sister with whom she communicates regularly through letters. She has two daughters and a husband who is self-centered.

Amidst her 'normal' life, she finds a young man, and going against her timid nature, she has an affair with him. Though she refuses to marry him and leave her husband, she opens up, realizes that her true love is her husband and children. As her husband decides to go back to his country, she gathers her guts to stay in the (new) country to which she and her daughters belong.

The problem in the flick is that it doesn't have the required momentum. It seems contrived at places and though the story moves forward, it's slow; the pacing should have much more in the first half. And the key problem being a passive protagonist. With conflict not pronounced, it doesn't grip though in the second half it gets better.

Based on the novel by Monica Ali
Writer: Laura Jones & Abi Morgan
Director: Sarah Gavron

Rating **1/2

[Max ****]

[Viewed on rented DVD at Hampden on 20th March, 2009]