Based on Monica Ali's celebrated novel, this is the story of a Bangladeshi village girl (Tannishtha Chatterjee) whose family marries her off to a man twice her age living in London, where she gradually learns that life doesn't have to be a form of indentured servitude. Sarah Gavron directs with a lot of sensitivity, but it's Chatterjee who puts the movie over; rarely has reticence seemed so tragically heroic.
Brick Lane
Released this week: Appaloosa, Brideshead Revisited, The Family That Preys, Mirrors, My Best Friend's Girl, Our Daily Bread, Swing Vote
