Upon its release in 1985, My Beautiful Laundrette was met with respectable praise and much critical acclaim. It won writer Hanif Kureishi a New York Film Critics Circle award and even received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. It was also the first time many of us encountered the name Daniel Day-Lewis.
My Beautiful Laundrette is a film that addresses a variety of issues including inter-racial relationships, infidelity, arranged marriages, racial tension, and homosexuality. Omar (Gordon Warnecke) is a young Pakistani who lives with his widowed father (Roshan Seth) in London. It is an oppressive environment with little to offer the people that live there. Despite unemployment, petty crime and race-hatred being common place, Omar's Uncle Nasser (Saeed Jeffrey) is something of a successful businessman with a family, a mistress, and a firm belief in Thatcher's Britain. He recognises that as bad as things may seem, by comparison, Britain is the land of opportunity.
"There's money to be made from filth" |
Omar is offered the chance to run his uncle's laundrette, which has thus far proved more of a burden than a bonus. Omar has a vision for both the laundrette and himself. He employs his childhood friend Johnny (Daniel Day-Lewis), an ex-National Front member who has resorted to petty thuggery to get by. Johnny realises this may be his only chance to get out of the rut he is in, and it soon becomes apparent that their relationship is based on more than just running the laundrette.
Johnny's former gang mates are less than impressed that he is now working for "Those Pakis" and are a constant threat to this new opportunity. They also serve as a reminder of who he was and the man he no longer wishes to be. Meanwhile, Omar is having problems of his own. His family are doing their best to find him a bride, or at the very least are pushing him to find his own. Cousin Tania has made her availability well known and has made Omar several 'offers'.
Adding to the tension is Omar's cousin, Salim (Derrick Branche), a morally challenged criminal with various business 'interests'. Salim is jealous of Omar's entrepreneurial skills and the only family member to have worked out that Johnny and Omar are more than just business partners. However, he is caught in a catch-22 situation, for Omar is well aware of his cousin's illegal business dealings.
My Beautiful Laundrette is well written, well directed, with strong performances all round. There are no easy answers for the major players and none are offered. There is a constant air of expectation throughout the film, and while you will find yourself hoping that it all works out well for Omar and Johnny, you can never be sure that it will.
My Beautiful Laundrette is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.66:1 and is 15:9 enhanced (you'll get black bars on the edge of the picture). There are a number of problems with the video presentation, which detract somewhat from the overall enjoyment of the film. I would suggest that this has been copied from VHS but as it is anomorphically enhanced, this can't be the case.
The image is generally soft and lacking in fine detail. Colours appear washed-out and vary a great deal from scene to scene, and within scenes. Colour bleeding is also evident. Grain is also a constant problem. Shadow detail is very poor, though black levels are generally fine. There are some instances of severe glare, and colours can rapidly change in a matter of seconds.
Positive and negative film artefacts abound, from very minor to irritatingly intrusive. These are constant and no scene is spared.
There is no layer change.
The only option presented is Dolby Digital stereo and it is neither remarkable nor deplorable. The vocals are slightly 'muddy' at times, but are generally clear. Accents are not a problem as is sometimes the case with British releases. There are no problems with audio-sync in what is essentially a dialogue-driven film.
The music is rather minimal, slightly experimental, and well placed at appropriate levels. There is no sound from the centre or rear speakers, and the subwoofer, likewise, is silent.
While the transfer is nothing to get excited about, the movie itself is most enjoyable. This multi-layered tale about relationships borders on being an 'art-house film' and will probably appeal more to those who prefer films that ask you to think and keep an open mind. If you are looking for a big budget, special effects bonanza with lashings of guns, car chases and big-breasted babes, then this is not it.