My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
Average Rating: 8.3/10
Reviews Counted: 31
Fresh: 31 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
Average Rating: 8/10
Critic Reviews: 9
Fresh: 9 | Rotten: 0
No consensus yet.
liked it
Average Rating: 3.7/5
User Ratings: 6,586
Movie Info
After the death of his wife and his subsequent descent into alcoholic near-agoraphobia, a crotchety Pakistani intellectual convinces his shady entrepreneur brother to provide work for his son in this multi-layered portrait of the immigrant experience in Great Britain. Young Londoner Omar (Gordon Warnecke) isn't sure what he wants out of life, but his uncle Nasser (Saeed Jaffrey) provides a corrupt, capitalist role model as Omar graduates from washing cars for the old crook to running his
Sep 7, 1985 Wide
Jun 3, 2003
Orion Classics
Watch It Now
Cast
-
Daniel Day-Lewis
Johnny -
Gordon Warnecke
Omar -
Saeed Jaffrey
Nasser -
Roshan Seth
Papa -
Shirley Ann Field
Rachel -
Derrick Branche
Salim -
Rita Wolf
Tania -
Dawn Archibald
Gang Member -
Bhasker Patel
Tariq -
Charu Bala Chokshi
Bilquis Nasser's Wife -
Neil Cunningham
Englishman -
Ayub Khan Din
Student -
Walter Donahue
dick O'donnell -
Souad Faress
Cherry Salim's Wife -
Richard Graham
Genghis -
Winston Graham
Jamaican -
Ram John Holder
Poet -
Gerard Horan
Telephone Man -
Nisha Kapur
Nasser's Younger Daught... -
-
Stephen Marcus
Moose -
Persis Marvala
Nasser's Elder Daughter -
Chris Pitt
Kid -
Dudley Thomas
Jamaican -
Buddy Uzzaman
Dealer -
Sheila Chitnis
Zaki's Wife -
Dulice Leicier
Girl in Disco -
Sira
Gurdial/Zaki -
Kerryann White
Kid -
Garry Cooper
Squatter -
Jonathan Moore
Gang Member -
Colin Campbell
Madame Butterfly Man
ADVERTISEMENT
All Critics (31) | Top Critics (9) | Fresh (31) | Rotten (0) | DVD (6)
It's Daniel Day Lewis, taut, intelligent, erotic, who is an emerging star.
Top CriticFast, bold, harsh and primitive like a prodigious student film with equal parts promise and threat.
This is a uniquely plausible portrait of life in England, yet its appeal isn't limited to social realism -- it also has a twist of buoyant fantasy and romance
This new British picture raises enough issues for a half-dozen more conventional movies. And though this approach makes for a structure that's a little shaky, the film somehow holds together.
Director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi are better at depicting a new milieu than in making an important or innovative statement.
As always, director Stephen Frears does a superb job of work when given a good script, and this is a very good script.
This seminal 1980s movie launched a plethora of now distinguished careers, including those of director Stephen Frears and Daniel Day-Lewis.
There isn't a performance in this film that is less than excellent.
Expertly acted throughout, this remains a definitive snapshot of British life in the 1980s.
[VIDEO ESSAY] "My Beautiful Launderette" is a milestone of British cinema.
An intriguing tale about race, sexuality, and politics in the New London, splendidly played by Daniel day Lewis as the gay punk.
When it works, it's a sophisticated and modestly ambitious attempt to cast a glance at a minority culture struggling to gain a foothold in a troubling time and place.
Director Stephen Frears and screenwriter Hanif Kureishi have fashioned a wonderfully fresh examination of the political and racial climate of Margaret Thatcher's Britain.
Unusual and quirky.
A gritty and imaginative English film offering a grim portrait of societal disintegration during the 1980s in a country rife with racial tensions and a thriving underground economy.
While Personal Best and Making Love have faded into obscurity as The Celluloid Closet footnotes, My Beautiful Laundrette has become a benchmark in the 80s new queer cinema.
Kureishi's script brims with terrific lines that are expertly delivered by the entire cast, while the story's romance still seems powerful, fresh and honest.
At times puzzling due to the diverse panorama of subject matter, the film nevertheless corners touchy issues more than it flinches them.
Audience Reviews for My Beautiful Laundrette
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Nasser: I'm a professional businessman not a professional Pakistani!
Discussion Forum
There are no discussion threads for My Beautiful Laundrette yet.
What's Hot On RT
John Goodman's Best Movies
Woody Allen in San Francisco
Naomi Watts stars as Princess Di
Pictures from a zombie nation
Fresh Links
Featured
Movie: ID: 14338 Title: My Beautiful Laundrette Release Date: 1985-09-07 00:00:00.0 MPAA: 4 Status: 1
Family Movie Mistakes
Even the best family entertainment experiences a few blunders now and then...
The Looks of Johnny Depp
To celebrate the star's birthday, BuzzSugar looks at the many faces of Johnny Depp.
10 Egregious Product Placements
Rolling Stone wonders if The Internship goes too far... then provides 10 examples of movies that did.
10 Bad Movies That Look Great
Sometimes even terrible movies can be beautiful; here are 10 of them, from HitFix.
50 Most Classic Movie Moms
In celebration of Mother's Day, TimeOut offers up 50 iconic matriarchs from the big screen.
Promos
Follow RT on Twitter!
Spice up your feed with hourly Tomatometer updates!
Featured on RT
- James Gandolfini: 1961-2013 13
- Total Recall: John Goodman's Best Movies 35
- In Pictures: Zombie Nation! 0
- Video Interviews with Cast & Crew of Monsters University 0
- Digital Multiplex: 21 & Over, Quartet, and More 3
- RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Jack the Giant Slayer and Quartet 23
- Box Office Guru Wrapup: Man of Steel Sets June Record 111
Top Headlines
-
Has Brad Pitt Ever Made a Successful Blockbuster?
2
-
Pacific Rim Set Visit Report
0
-
Shailene Woodley Cut from Amazing Spider-Man 2
1
-
Star Wars Casting Breakdown Reportedly Leaks
0
-
Universal Picks Up Dumb and Dumber To
0
-
Sam Taylor-Johnson Directing Fifty Shades of Grey
0
-
The Logan's Run Remake Has a New Writer
1
Foreign Titles
- Mein wunderbarer Waschsalon (DE)
I think the biggest surprise about this film isn't the gay relationship but the fact that this was nominated for Best Screenplay.