|

Now Playing
Critics & Publications
Archives: A-Z Index
Advanced Search
Upcoming Release Calendar
Weekend Box Office
Film Awards & Top 10s By Year
All-Time High Scores
All-Time Low Scores
How Metascores Are Calculated
Discuss Film In Our Forums

20
American Carol, An
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
41
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
45
Blindness
58
Body of Lies
63
Burn After Reading
58
City of Ember
15
College
82
Dark Knight, The
43
Death Race
15
Disaster Movie
43
Eagle Eye
58
Express, The
49
Family That Preys, The
57
Flash of Genius
36
Fly Me to the Moon
54
Get Smart
72
Ghost Town
55
House Bunny, The
35
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
73
Kung Fu Panda
46
Lakeview Terrace
52
Longshots, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
51
Mamma Mia!
xx
Max Payne
43
Meet Dave
37
Miracle at St. Anna
35
Mirrors
34
My Best Friend's Girl
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
39
Nights in Rodanthe
54
Quarantine
36
Righteous Kill
53
Rocker, The
50
Secret Life of Bees, The
53
Sex Drive
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
36
Space Chimps
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
47
Swing Vote
60
Traitor
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
93
WALL-E
27
Women, The
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
93
WALL-E
82
Dark Knight, The
73
Kung Fu Panda
72
Ghost Town
71
Tropic Thunder
70
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
65
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
64
Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist
63
Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2, The
63
Burn After Reading
60
Traitor
58
Express, The
58
City of Ember
58
Body of Lies
57
Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D
57
Flash of Genius
55
House Bunny, The
54
Quarantine
54
Get Smart
53
Rocker, The
53
Lucky Ones, The
53
Sex Drive
52
Longshots, The
51
Mamma Mia!
50
Secret Life of Bees, The
49
Family That Preys, The
47
Swing Vote
47
X-Files: I Want to Believe, The
46
Lakeview Terrace
45
Blindness
43
Eagle Eye
43
Meet Dave
43
Death Race
41
Beverly Hills Chihuahua
39
Nights in Rodanthe
37
Miracle at St. Anna
36
Space Chimps
36
Righteous Kill
36
Fly Me to the Moon
35
How to Lose Friends & Alienate People
35
Star Wars: The Clone Wars
35
Mirrors
34
My Best Friend's Girl
27
Women, The
26
Babylon A.D.
24
Bangkok Dangerous
20
American Carol, An
15
Disaster Movie
15
College
xx
Max Payne
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.

xx
All of Us
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
63
Appaloosa
68
Ashes of Time Redux
68
August Evening
62
Baghead
81
Ballast
55
Battle in Seattle
xx
Beer for My Horses
xx
Billy: The Early Years
63
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
56
Bottle Shock
50
Breakfast with Scot
61
Brick Lane
43
Call and Response
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Choke
43
Choose Connor
41
Cthulhu
62
Duchess, The
85
Edge of Heaven, The
66
Elegy
xx
Elephant King, The
80
Encounters at the End of the World
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
64
Fall, The
28
Filth and Wisdom
28
Fireproof
65
Flow: For Love of Water
37
Forever Strong
xx
Frontrunners
82
Frozen River
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
51
Good Dick
82
Happy-Go-Lucky
44
Henry Poole is Here
31
Hounddog
53
Humboldt County
72
I Served the King of England
68
I.O.U.S. A
40
Igor
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
xx
Just Buried
62
Kabluey
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
78
Last Mistress, The
xx
Lower Learning
63
Man Named Pearl, A
89
Man on Wire
xx
Mary
62
Mister Foe
86
Momma's Man
xx
Morning Light
80
Moving Midway
53
Nights and Weekends
73
Obscene
xx
Phoebe in Wonderland
55
Ping Pong Playa
76
Pool, The
82
Rachel Getting Married
56
Religulous
56
RocknRolla
55
Save Me
72
Secret, A
45
Shoot on Sight
57
Sixty Six
82
Tell No One
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
57
Towelhead
72
Transsiberian
83
Trouble the Water
xx
Tru Loved
83
U2 3D
84
Up the Yangtze
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
79
Visitor, The
46
W.
61
Wackness, The
52
What Just Happened?
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
89
Man on Wire
86
Momma's Man
85
Edge of Heaven, The
84
Up the Yangtze
83
U2 3D
83
Trouble the Water
82
Tell No One
82
Happy-Go-Lucky
82
Frozen River
82
Rachel Getting Married
81
Ballast
80
Encounters at the End of the World
80
Moving Midway
79
Visitor, The
78
Last Mistress, The
76
Pool, The
73
Girl Cut in Two, A
73
Obscene
73
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson
72
Secret, A
72
Transsiberian
72
I Served the King of England
68
I.O.U.S. A
68
August Evening
68
Ashes of Time Redux
66
Elegy
66
When Did You Last See Your Father?
65
Flow: For Love of Water
64
Fall, The
64
In Search of a Midnight Kiss
63
Thousand Years of Good Prayers, A
63
Boogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
63
Appaloosa
63
Man Named Pearl, A
63
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
62
Kabluey
62
Duchess, The
62
Mister Foe
62
Baghead
61
Wackness, The
61
Brick Lane
57
Towelhead
57
Amazing Truth About Queen Raquela, The
57
Sixty Six
56
Religulous
56
Bottle Shock
56
RocknRolla
55
Save Me
55
Battle in Seattle
55
Ping Pong Playa
53
Humboldt County
53
Allah Made Me Funny: Live in Concert
53
Nights and Weekends
52
Virtual JFK: Vietnam If Kennedy Had Lived
52
What Just Happened?
51
Good Dick
50
Breakfast with Scot
49
Children of Huang Shi, The
47
Choke
46
W.
45
Shoot on Sight
44
Henry Poole is Here
43
Choose Connor
43
Call and Response
41
Cthulhu
40
Igor
37
Forever Strong
31
Hounddog
28
Filth and Wisdom
28
Fireproof
26
Everybody Wants to Be Italian
xx
Frontrunners
xx
Phoebe in Wonderland
xx
All of Us
xx
Elephant King, The
xx
Billy: The Early Years
xx
Mary
xx
Morning Light
xx
Tru Loved
xx
Just Buried
xx
Beer for My Horses
xx
Lower Learning
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed movies.
|
Brick Lane
Sony Pictures Classics
 |
|
MPAA RATING: PG-13 for some sexuality and brief strong language
Starring
Tannishtha Chatterjee,
Satish Kaushik,
Christopher Simpson,
and
Zafreen
Nazneen’s life is turned upside down at the tender age of seventeen. Forced into an arranged marriage to an older man, she exchanges her Bangladeshi village home for a block of flats in London’s East End. In this new world, pining for her home and her sister, she struggles to make sense of her existence – and to do her duty to her husband. A man of inflated ideas (and stomach), he sorely tests her compliance. Told from birth that she must not fight her fate, Nazneen submits, devoting her life to raising her family and slapping down her demons of discontent. Until the day that Karim, a hot-headed local man, bursts into her life. Against a background of escalating racial tension, they embark on an affair that finally forces Nazneen to take control of her life. Set in multicultural Britain, Brick Lane is a truly contemporary story of love, cultural difference, and ultimately, the strength of the human spirit. (Sony Pictures Classics)
| GENRE(S): |
Drama
|
| WRITTEN BY: |
Monica Ali (novel)
Laura Jones
Abi Morgan
|
| DIRECTED BY: |
Sarah Gavron
|
| RELEASE DATE: |
Theatrical: June 20, 2008
|
| RUNNING TIME: |
102 minutes, Color |
| ORIGIN: |
UK |

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
88
Chicago Sun-Times
Roger Ebert
Tells a story we think we already know, but we're wrong: It has new things to say within an old formula.

80
The Hollywood Reporter
Kirk Honeycutt
Beautifully acted and written so its themes are touched upon glancingly rather than with full force.

75
USA Today
Claudia Puig
A sensitive and occasionally poetic film, Brick Lane is an absorbing tale of personal empowerment and emotional growth.

75
ReelViews
James Berardinelli
The characters in Brick Lane must define themselves and determine where "home" is before they can move forward, and that dramatic conflict lies at the heart of this motion picture.

75
Miami Herald
Connie Ogle
A slow-moving but heartfelt film.

75
Philadelphia Inquirer
Steven Rea
While the film pivots around Nazneen, perhaps at the expense of other characters, it doesn't sell her short. This is a rich, revealing and elegant portrait, and one well worth spending time with.

75
Baltimore Sun
Michael Sragow
The movie has a vibrant, sturdy pathos in the manner of Dickens.

70
Variety
Robert Koehler
Monica Ali's elegant and critically trumpeted debut novel, Brick Lane, about the travails, conflicting emotions and quiet liberation of a Muslim woman in London, is a far lesser thing in its bigscreen transformation.

70
Village Voice
Ella Taylor
Absorbing enough, moving enough, and visually attractive enough to provide a perfectly acceptable night out at the movies.

70
The New York Times
A.O. Scott
Certainly touching, even heart-rending at times, and it mostly steers clear of the didacticism and sentimentality its subject matter often invites. But it never takes the full measure of its modest heroine, and makes her world a bit too small.

67
Austin Chronicle
Josh Rosenblatt
Taken for what it is, Brick Lane is something entirely its own.

67
Portland Oregonian
Shawn Levy
Like many things about Brick Lane, this story is dealt with in too cursory and pat a fashion. The film's heart can't be faulted, but its head is working in a regrettably low gear.

67
Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Sean Axmaker
A thoughtful and often evocative drama of identity and assimilation, but she leaves Nazneen so cocooned in her protective shell of disconnection that we can't connect emotionally.

63
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)
Liam Lacey
The arc of Nazneen's character, from drudge to feminist heroine, is predictably saintly. Chanu is a far more intriguingly human figure, the redeemed fool.

63
TV Guide
Maitland McDonagh
Restrained and decorous to a fault.

63
Boston Globe
Wesley Morris
Easily, the best character in the film is Nazneen's tubby husband, who's been angling to take the family back to Bangladesh.

60
New York Daily News
Joe Neumaier
Well-acted and grounded in reality, Brick Lane is never overly emotional, even when it deals with the days after 9/11.

58
Entertainment Weekly
Owen Gleiberman
One of those feminist cries in the dark in which the heroine, a saintly sufferer, is more admirable than interesting.

58
The Onion (A.V. Club)
Tasha Robinson
Brick Lane comes far too late to be groundbreaking, and tries to do too much to be fully coherent, but its talent for avoiding obvious choices on all fronts, narratively and stylistically, make it worth a look.

50
Los Angeles Times
Jan Stuart
Brick Lane has been whittled down from Monica Ali's expansive 2003 novel into a glossy but overly efficient drama that, like Nazneen's husband, is ultimately too ineffectual to make much of a dent.

50
New York Post
Kyle Smith
Wraps a sari around the kind of suffering-housewife picture that became a cliché 30 years ago.

50
Christian Science Monitor
Peter Rainer
For most of the movie, we feel as trapped as she does, and the lurching narrative seems anything but novelistic.

50
Chicago Reader
Andrea Gronvall
The movie is notable for its perceptive take on issues facing immigrants, and atmospherically photographed by Robbie Ryan (Red Road), but its flat, static quality belies the novel's richness.

50
San Francisco Chronicle
Peter Hartlaub
Has beautiful scenery and some enjoyable moments but leaves the viewer feeling the need to find the book to get the rest of the story.

50
Washington Post
Michael O'Sullivan
Even as Brick Lane manages to sidestep one formula, it falls prey to another.


The average user rating for this movie is 6.2 (out of 10) based on 4 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
Discuss this movie in our forums |
|