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Nazneen (Tannishtha Chatterjee) lives a quiet life in London's East End, trapped in an unsatisfying marriage to the oafish Chanu (Satish Kaushik), which produced two children. When a chance encounter with idealistic neighborhood man Karim (Christopher Simpson) grows into a full-blown affair, Nazneen has to make tough choices about personal freedom versus family responsibility.

Big question: Can this look at Bengali Muslims connect with U.S. audiences?

Skip it: Nazneen's cultural background and home-life differentiates her from the desperate housewives American audiences are accustomed to, so why does it still seem like we've been down this path so many times before? A crude yet devoted husband, a kindly but unsuitable younger lover, children hanging in the balance…if you've ever seen a minute of Lifetime you know the drill.

Catch it: To look for tips on what not to do if you're having an affair: like inviting your lover over to fix a computer in the middle of the afternoon when your husband might come home.

Bottom line: A visually pleasing and competently acted domestic drama of discontent that never finds a fresh way to convey the characters' problems. That leaves the film feeling as average as an ordinary TV movie.

Bonus: The movie is based on a 2003 debut novel of the same name by Monica Ali, which helps explain the otherwise irrelevant decision to set the action in 2001.

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