Despite a strong central performance, the story of a British Asian woman’s everyday frustrations floats by with a weird lack of urgency
Here’s a homegrown debut that appears hellbent on snuffing out its own flickers of promise. Writer-director Sadia Saeed’s protagonist Arifa (Shermin Hassan) is a frustrated 28-year-old British Asian woman who works in insurance and lives at home with her parents. Scenes float by with a weird lack of urgency that doesn’t appear to be a conscious choice, jokes are muffled, and some of the performers fail to convince. The film can’t work as comedy, because the material isn’t up to snuff. As a character study, it struggles to wring much of note out of a heroine who may simply be too ordinary.
The odd thing is that Saeed seems aware of this shortcoming, working in scenes in which Arifa’s fumbling attempts...
Here’s a homegrown debut that appears hellbent on snuffing out its own flickers of promise. Writer-director Sadia Saeed’s protagonist Arifa (Shermin Hassan) is a frustrated 28-year-old British Asian woman who works in insurance and lives at home with her parents. Scenes float by with a weird lack of urgency that doesn’t appear to be a conscious choice, jokes are muffled, and some of the performers fail to convince. The film can’t work as comedy, because the material isn’t up to snuff. As a character study, it struggles to wring much of note out of a heroine who may simply be too ordinary.
The odd thing is that Saeed seems aware of this shortcoming, working in scenes in which Arifa’s fumbling attempts...
- 6/26/2019
- by Mike McCahill
- The Guardian - Film News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.