My Beautiful Laundrette

My Beautiful Laundrette is a 1985 film directed by Stephen Frears. The screenplay was written by Hanif Kureishi.

Production Highlights

My Beautiful Laundrette was Frears' fifth feature film. Originally shot for television, it was later released in theatres and eventually became his first international success. The movie features an early performance by Academy Award winner Daniel Day-Lewis in the role of Johnny. The cast also includes Saeed Jaffrey, Roshan Seth, Gordon Warnecke, Derrick Branche and Rita Wolf.

The film benefits from a widely appraised original screenplay by Hanif Kureishi, which depicts London life in the Thatcher Era through the complex – and often comical – relationships between members of the Asian community. The plot tackles many polemic issues, such as homosexuality, racism and England's economic and political policy during the 1980s.

The soundtrack was written by Stanley Myers and Ludus Tonalis. Non-original music included the waltz Les Pâtineurs, by French composer Emile Waldteufel, and excerpts from Puccini's Madama Butterfly.

My Beautiful Laundrette marked the first time Oliver Stapleton was in charge of the cinematography in a Stephen Frears' movie. He would later grow to be one of the director's most stable colaborators.

Awards

My Beautiful Laundrette was nominated in 1987 for a single Academy Award – Best Original Screenplay, by Hanif Kureishi. It lost to Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters. Kureishi received a few more international nominations, most notably for the BAFTA, and was awarded by the American National Society of Film Critics.

The Plot

Omar is the ambitious son of a Pakistani journalist who lives in London but hates England and its international politics. By contrast, his brother Nasser is a sucessful entrepreneur and an active member of the London Asian community. Omar asks his uncle for a job and, after working for a brief time as a car washer in one of his garages, is assigned the task of running a decadent laundrette and turning it into a profitable business.

Omar's car is attacked by a group of right-wing extremists shouting racists slogans: amongst them he recongnizes an old friend of his, Johnny, whom he had been trying to invite into the laundrette business. Johnny agrees to help Omar, and they resume a love affair which had been interrupted after school.

At Nasser's, Omar meets a few other members of the Pakistani community: Tanya, his daughter and possibly a future bride; and Salim, who traffics concaine and hires him to deliver the drug from the airport. Running out of money, Omar and Johnny sell away one of Salim's deliveries to make cash for the laundrette redecoration.

The laundrette becomes a success. At the opening day, Nasser visits the store with his mistress, Rachel. She later falls ill with a skin rash apparently caused by his wife's magical powers, and decides to leave him. Tanya drops by and asks Johnny to go away with her; he refuses, and she departs alone. Johnny's former friends also appear and engage him in a fight. He is saved by Omar, who then helps him clean up as the film draws to an end. Nasser sees Tanya at a train platform whilst she is running away.

External Links

• Channel 4 Review: uncredited
• Slant! Magazine Review: Eric Henderson
• The Chicago Sun-Times Review: Roger Eber