[trailer]
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| To please the powerful or the partner.. |
My Beautiful Laundrette, a British comedy/drama created in the midst of the Thatcher reign, is a film designed to push boundaries and one that has certainly done so effectively. The film weaves commentary on taboo topics, such as sexuality and race, into the story seamlessly.
The attention to detail made for a stunning aesthetic that beautifully complimented the mood and portrayal of wealth within the film. What was perhaps most interesting, was Frears's presentation of a less familiar London and the characters who inhabited it. A film that successfully communicates the struggle of relationships and the cultural divide, My Beautiful Laundrette is uniquely honest in its depiction of controversial themes.
The film introduces Omar, a young Pakistani with an alcoholic father living in poverty in London. In need of a job, Omar finds himself appealing to the better nature of his upper-class uncle Nassar who, out of obligation, gives him a job as a taxi cleaner in one of his many side businesses. Rising in the ranks, he is given the reigns to a dilapidated laundry and charged with bringing it back to life. However, when his white trash ex-lover Johnny walks back into his life, Omar must find a way to satisfy both his emotional and socioeconomical desires. It is a task that proves difficult as his business becomes a success and his uncle Nassar eyes him off as a potential husband for his daughter. Omar is forced to continue his re-kindled relationship behind the half-closed doors that is his close-knit Pakistani family, allaying rumours and feigning interest in the desperately disempowered daughter. As cracks begin to appear and corruption is revealed within both the business and personal lives of the big power holders, Omar becomes more and more involved, a mistake that ends in the attack of Johnny and the reveal of his true feelings.
What I appreciated most about this film, was Frears's ability to tell the story with a realist approach. The strained nature of Omar and Johnny's relationship was often addressed as the two men were placed in juxtaposition. Though from ethnic origins it was clear that Omar's chance at success was significantly greater given his family connections and business brains, a scenario that simultaneously drew attention to the cultural difference in the family-orientated Pakistani business world. In contrast to Omar's prospects was Johnny, a lower class, gay, white-European man who's unfortunate upbringing got him mixed up with a gang of punk neofascist "Paki-bashers". His chance at success was clearly minimal and served to portray a harsher reality of the social circumstances of Modern Britain. My Beautiful Laundrette studied Thatcher's Britain through a series of confronting contrasts, between social classes and economical status perpetuated by a keen awareness of cultural divides and further, the conflict of homosexuality in a tumultuous period of self-awareness and transparency.
A thoroughly enjoyable film, with superb performances that both engaged and intrigued me throughout. Frears's masterful culmination of such powerful issues with beautiful visual aide makes this film a definite must-see.
The attention to detail made for a stunning aesthetic that beautifully complimented the mood and portrayal of wealth within the film. What was perhaps most interesting, was Frears's presentation of a less familiar London and the characters who inhabited it. A film that successfully communicates the struggle of relationships and the cultural divide, My Beautiful Laundrette is uniquely honest in its depiction of controversial themes.
The film introduces Omar, a young Pakistani with an alcoholic father living in poverty in London. In need of a job, Omar finds himself appealing to the better nature of his upper-class uncle Nassar who, out of obligation, gives him a job as a taxi cleaner in one of his many side businesses. Rising in the ranks, he is given the reigns to a dilapidated laundry and charged with bringing it back to life. However, when his white trash ex-lover Johnny walks back into his life, Omar must find a way to satisfy both his emotional and socioeconomical desires. It is a task that proves difficult as his business becomes a success and his uncle Nassar eyes him off as a potential husband for his daughter. Omar is forced to continue his re-kindled relationship behind the half-closed doors that is his close-knit Pakistani family, allaying rumours and feigning interest in the desperately disempowered daughter. As cracks begin to appear and corruption is revealed within both the business and personal lives of the big power holders, Omar becomes more and more involved, a mistake that ends in the attack of Johnny and the reveal of his true feelings.
What I appreciated most about this film, was Frears's ability to tell the story with a realist approach. The strained nature of Omar and Johnny's relationship was often addressed as the two men were placed in juxtaposition. Though from ethnic origins it was clear that Omar's chance at success was significantly greater given his family connections and business brains, a scenario that simultaneously drew attention to the cultural difference in the family-orientated Pakistani business world. In contrast to Omar's prospects was Johnny, a lower class, gay, white-European man who's unfortunate upbringing got him mixed up with a gang of punk neofascist "Paki-bashers". His chance at success was clearly minimal and served to portray a harsher reality of the social circumstances of Modern Britain. My Beautiful Laundrette studied Thatcher's Britain through a series of confronting contrasts, between social classes and economical status perpetuated by a keen awareness of cultural divides and further, the conflict of homosexuality in a tumultuous period of self-awareness and transparency.
A thoroughly enjoyable film, with superb performances that both engaged and intrigued me throughout. Frears's masterful culmination of such powerful issues with beautiful visual aide makes this film a definite must-see.
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