Welcome to Brick Lane, Bangladesh

A film of great depth and imagination, spawned from Monica Ali’s controversial novel of the same name, Brick Lane is both touching and inspiring in its message of hope. The journey of Nazneen, the main character, from being a “girl from the village” to a strong, independent, British woman questions our very notions of home. Juxtaposition is used frequently to compare and contrast the different cultures involved – British and Bangladeshi.

As an opening sequence, the first few scenes are effective in establishing a sense of place; bright colours and cheery music depicts Bangladesh as a happy place for Nazneen, however as the colours dull and the music takes on an eerie tone, and the ominous words of Nazneen’s mother – “Do not run from your fate” – are spoken, we know the past is not all sweetness and light for the main character. Sure enough, Nazneen’s mother commits suicide, leaving her two daughters to be cared for by their father. The juxtaposition in this scene is cleverly handled, as Nazneen’s mother is drowning herself in the same river her daughter is playing in. Splashing contrasts with drowning, light with dark, happiness with misery. Nazneen and her sister are left in the care of their father. At the tender age of just seventeen, he marries Nazneen off to the bumbling yet well-meaning Chanu, many years her senior. Her wedding day is not what one would expect; instead of it being the happiest day of her life, she seems to be miserable, uncomfortable and powerless, being prepared for her wedding.

Although Chanu is hilarious, some would say that Satish Kaushik’s portrayal of the Bengali businessman is too stereotypical. He seems not to care much about his wife’s opinion of matters and although he has been living in England for many years, still retains a strong Bengali accent. However, we can overlook this technicality as Chanu becomes more endearing over the course of the film, and we even pity the poor soul; he is so educated and intelligent, yet people aren’t willing to look beyond the cover of his book.

Over the course of the film, Tannishtha Chatterjee’s character blossoms; she becomes strong and independent, ready to have her opinions heard, where before she was happy to go along with what others desires. By the end of the film, she is firm and determined to have a life of her own. The bittersweet ending is not unsatisfactory as we realise that her decision to do what she wanted, to have what she wanted, to be where she wanted, took courage, and inner strength. Chatterjee’s portrayal of Nazneen is astonishing in that she portrays her frustration and despair, even though she says very little for most of the film. Sarah Gavron relies on extreme close-ups of Nazneen’s face to show her true emotions, when she is otherwise silent. The deep despair in Nazneen’s eyes appears genuine and heart consuming, proof of Gavron’s exceptional direction.

There’s a rather noteworthy political scene in the middle of the film, just after the events of September 11th. The ‘Bengal Tigers,’ who formed previously to battle the prejudice shown by their British neighbours, have a meeting in which they discuss what they are to do about the sudden rush of abuse. Nazneen comes with Chanu, who has prepared a speech, however, when he hears what they say, he discards his speech and stands up against them. He is the opposing elder voice to the violence they suggest. Kaushik is very poignant in this scene; he literally stands up for what he believes in. Before this point, we know that he is an intelligent, educated man, yet we have seen little evidence of this. However, now we see he has real depth and stature, as well as bravery for standing up to them. His message is straightforward; where the Bengal Tigers are suggesting they – as in the Muslims – are all brothers, Chanu is suggesting that everyone is your brother or sister and that there should be no diversity between people. His sheer emotion touches us in ways we could never imagine, especially from the considerate clown that is Chanu. This is a turning point for Nazneen as well as the audience, as we finally realise there is more to her husband than corns and computers.

In one of the last and most expertly directed sequences of the film, Nazneen’s daughter Shahana runs away to avoid leaving her home for Bangladesh. Again, Nazneen is running to catch someone she is afraid of losing. Her fear for Shahana comes across through the blurry shots, the viewpoint shots, and close-ups of Nazneen’s face. This is the first time we move far beyond Brick Lane, and we travel to Liverpool Street Station, which is rather apt, considering the importance of journeys in the film. Shahana stops running and Nazneen runs to her, comforting her. “Amma’s here,” she says, which means “Mother’s here.” She does not want to leave her daughter alone like her mother did to her, and the moment she hugs her daughter, we can feel her letting go of the past, and embracing her future.

Monica Ali’s novel faced controversy when it was published, as the Bangladeshi community rejected their portrayal in the book and felt it was too stereotypical. But Brick Lane is not entirely about politics and religion - it’s about love, family and our very notion of home.

Sources

Brick Lane on yahoo.co.uk
Review of Brick Lane the book