Brick LaneMovie Reviews

Poster art for "Brick Lane."

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Avg. Critic Score: 61 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
14 Iffy for 14+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 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. Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Kirk Honeycutt

    Beautifully acted and written so its themes are touched upon glancingly rather than with full force. Read full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

    A sensitive and occasionally poetic film, Brick Lane is an absorbing tale of personal empowerment and emotional growth. Read full review

  • 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. Read full review

  • 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. Read full review

  • 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. Read full review

  • 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. Read full review

  • 50
    Washington Post | Michael O'Sullivan

    Even as Brick Lane manages to sidestep one formula, it falls prey to another. Read full review

  • 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. Read full review

  • 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. Read full review

View more reviews for Brick Lane on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 14+ Weighty tearjerker with mature themes.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that although this powerful, thought-provoking drama -- which isn't too likely to be on teens' radar -- doesn't have much in the way of graphic nudity, swearing, or violence, it's fairly adult when it comes to its themes. It explores infidelity, terrorism, prejudice, arranged marriages, the immigrant experience, and tenuous parent-child relationships. It's unflinching in its portrayals of these issues, and their reality can be harsh.
  • Families can talk about complicated parent-child relationships. Did any of the scenes in the movie resonate? How do relationships change as children get older and become more independent? Families can also discuss some of the issues that the movie deals with. What do teens think about the idea of arranged marriage? How does their view compare to the one presented in the movie? Can you think of other movies that offer close-up looks at worlds as specific and -- to Western minds, anyway -- unusual as the one here? Are Nazneen's decisions believable?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: A husband takes his wife for granted and expects her to wait on him hand and foot (literally). Some heated exchanges between a teen girl and her father, which could be construed as disrespectful and downright nasty. A married woman has an affair.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: The threat of violence hangs over parts of the movie, but nothing gory or bloody happens. Scenes from the 9-11 terrorist attacks are shown, such as the planes' moments of impact into the World Trade Center. A few scenes hint at the anger and rage that befall those who are disenfranchised; some shouting and tense moments between parents and their children.
  • sex false0 Sex: A married woman has an affair -- the trysts occur in the home she shares with her husband. No outright nudity, but implied sexual movements/action. Some flirting.
  • language false3 Language: Language includes "s--t," an isolated use of "f--k," and some words that could be construed as derogatory toward certain nationalities.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: A TV channel logo is displayed when the news is broadcast in some scenes. Labels include Brother, Singer sewing machines, and a denim company.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: A few scenes of social drinking.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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