Arranged marriage, or assisted marriage as it’s now known, is a tricky subject to build a very traditional romcom around. The rules of the genre almost demand a whirlwind love affair in defiance of either society or fate, and a relationship supported by one’s parents is not conducive to that. That hasn’t deterred Shekhar Kapur and screenwriter Jemima Khan from this spin on the subject, but perhaps it should have done.
The problem is that the grammar of the romcom demands an outcome that the story and characters don’t really support. Commitment-phobic documentarian Zoe (Lily James) is casting about for her next subject when she learns that her friend Kazim (Shazad Latif) has decided to pursue an assisted marriage and settle down like his parents. She persuades him to let her film the quest, but her personal and philosophical misgivings threaten both her project and his.
Kapur and Khan have gone to some lengths to point out the virtues of assisted marriage and the shortcomings of the Western romantic marriage — the disparity in divorce rates is striking — but such cultural sensitivity is undermined in the film’s entire thrust towards a romance between the two people on the poster, which it does not entirely earn. Latif, so good in Star Trek: Discovery, is a likeable, assertive presence as Kaz, and displays a facility for light comedy with a sharp point — as when reminding Zoe and her mum Cath (Emma Thompson) that he has to get to the airport early to be ready for ‘random’ searches. James is less sympathetic but convincingly torn, at least, between personal and professional loyalties. The problem is that they get relatively little time together, and even less time alone together, so any potential romance has to rely heavily on a backstory of childhood friendship and awkward first kisses, and a few steady glances.
The film drags as it trudges through the business of arranging a wedding that the audience can’t quite believe in.
Shabana Azmi is wonderful as Kazim’s mum Aisha, composed and warm for the most part but stern when required, and Sajal Ali makes a convincingly appealing bride-to-be for Kazim as Maymouna. Surprisingly, Thompson is less good as Cath. Perhaps we should blame the fact that it’s an odd role: Cath is mad about her neighbours and loves sharing their food, dress and celebrations, but also flings around insensitive language and (at least) microaggressions on a regular basis. It’s perhaps worthwhile to show how gross all these casual comments are, but coming from a character who we otherwise seem to be meant to like, it’s discombobulating. Maybe that’s the point.
Kapur shoots it all glowingly but not too glossily, in a recognisably middle-class London rather than Richard Curtis’ millionaire version, and in Lahore. But the film drags as it trudges through the business of arranging a wedding that the audience can’t quite believe in, and never delivers on the romance, assisted or not. There’s probably a moving character piece to be made about this kind of match, but this never quite gets there.