Brick Lane

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Brick Lane

PG-13

Released Jun 20, 2008

1h 41m

Drama

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Popcornmeter

68%

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101 Reviews

60%

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25,000+ Ratings

At the age of 17, Nazneen leaves Bangladesh for an arranged marriage to an older husband in London's Brick Lane. After ten years, she has given Chanu two daughters, made him a home and trimmed the corns on his feet but she yearns to break free. She begins an illicit affair with Karim, the dashing market trader for whom she sews jeans.

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Critics Consensus

Frustratingly slow-moving, but ultimately saved by Chatterjee's solid acting and Gavron's gentle patience.

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Deborah Ross

The Spectator

It's not flashy or showy and it is not going to knock your socks off, but it's a small jewel of a film: gentle, languorous, humane, and acted with the utmost sweetness.

Aug 23, 2018

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Wesley Morris

Boston Globe

Rated: 2/4

Nov 24, 2011

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Hank Sartin

Time Out

Rated: 3/5

Nov 18, 2011

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David Lamble

Bay Area Reporter

Sarah Gavron's astonishing debut feature draws on Monica Ali's daring post-9/11 story depicting the tribulations and temptations of an unworldly young Muslin woman

Jun 1, 2020

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Mattie Lucas

From the Front Row

A beautifully made film with its heart in the right place, there's just not enough of that heart to go around.

Rated: 2.5/4

Jul 6, 2019

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James Vance

Tulsa World

Though some of the journeys lead to unhappy endings, Nazneen's story offers us a resolution as satisfying as any contemporary drama has given us this year.

Rated: 3/4

Feb 6, 2018

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Jerod S

Bangledesh to London, Nanzeen is married to a man she doesn't love and that seems to have delusions of grandeur on how their family will survive. She finds different kinds of love and truth in her desire to go back and see her sister - and her growth lands her in a spot she wouldn't have imagined.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

06/06/24

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isla s

This is very much an immersive film, at times a sobering and yet thoughtful one that does well at portraying the life of indian immigrants in London. I liked the music played, the traditional Indian instrumental music and also seeing the bright vivid colours of the indian culture, the costumes and celebrations etc. Plus; it was, of course, sad to see how people were looked down on by some. Watching the characters watch 9/11 happen again gave me the chills. I particularly liked the characterisation in this film - I thought it felt quite realistic and so it was a good film, one I'd recommend, especially with the ending, which was surprisingly somewhat moving, making this a reasonably solid film.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

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Audience Member

AMAZING! Nazneen is an independent woman who loves herself and her sister, even though her sister is an prostitute. Nazneen is not an prostitute, altough she likes to kiss other men and cheat on her unsuspecting husband. the movie is very slow, but when her daughter runs away from home, the movie really starts getting interesting. SIke. The movie ends 10 minutes after the first exciting thing happens.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/25/23

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Audience Member

It's a heavy heavy film, but native speakers will feel oddity when Bangla is spoken.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

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Audience Member

I really liked this biopic of East-meets-West-meets-east-again! based on the book, which I have now duly purchased for Â£1 at a charity shop. A powerful and hard-hitting account of an immigrant women's experience of state housing, marriage, unemployment, (Indian lady) loansharks, westernised kids; and the attraction of our fantasies, meeting the brutal truths. A truly commendible effort, in the Capital of my UK!

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

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Audience Member

I would say brick LAME... what a shit movie

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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Sarah Gavron

Director

Tannishtha Chatterjee

Nazneen Ahmed

Satish Kaushik

Chanu Ahmed

Christopher Simpson

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Synopsis

At the age of 17, Nazneen leaves Bangladesh for an arranged marriage to an older husband in London's Brick Lane. After ten years, she has given Chanu two daughters, made him a home and trimmed the corns on his feet but she yearns to break free. She begins an illicit affair with Karim, the dashing market trader for whom she sews jeans.

Director: Sarah Gavron
Producer: Alison Owen, Chris Collins
Screenwriter: Abi Morgan, Laura Jones
Distributor: Sony Pictures Classics
Production Co: Ruby Films
Rating: PG-13 (Some Sexuality|Brief Strong Language)
Genre: Drama
Original Language: Bangla
Release Date (Theaters): Jun 20, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Jan 1, 2012
Box Office (Gross USA): $1.1M
Runtime: 1h 41m

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