The Reluctant Fundamentalist – DVD review

Mira Nair, 2012

Kaleidoscope

Why would an educated man of Pakistani origin who is relishing the fruits of the American dream – Wall Street job, arty girlfriend – turn his back on his adopted country?

Nair’s screen adaptation of Mohsin Hamid’s novel tells the tale absorbingly. Although the thriller elements are less than thrilling and there are moments when it feels overschematic, the film is illuminated by a powerful performance from Riz Ahmed, and by Nair’s flair for photographing the subcontinent with a loving eye.