Sara and Is find themselves wandering around London in director Haider Zafar’s romance. Here’s our Before Nikkah review.
Director Haider Zafar’s Before Nikkah arrives in UK cinemas just before Valentine’s Day. It faces some tough competition from the latest Bridget Jones movie in the romance department, but Before Nikkah takes a different approach to its central relationship.
Sara (Sasha Vadher) and Isaam (or ‘Is’, played by Aakash Shukal) are meeting at London’s Euston Station. They’re on an awkward arranged date, which their families hope will lead to marriage (the ‘Nikkah’ of the film’s title referring to an Islamic term for a marriage contract). Understandably, perhaps, neither is too pleased about the idea.
The sparks don’t exactly fly, but the pair end up spending the day together anyway after Is’s train is cancelled. They wander around London, chewing the fat and talking about life’s big questions as they slowly warm to each other.
Sound familiar? Its premise is remarkably similar to Richard Linklater’s 1995 romantic drama Before Sunrise, even hinting at it in its name. Making such a clear reference to one of the greatest romances is a bold move, especially as your mind tends to wander to Linklater’s film and its two, equally great sequels. Thankfully, Before Nikkah does manage to find its own identity after some initial wobbles, but there’s a high possibility the film will leave you wanting to watch Before Sunrise instead.
Zafar is an experienced cinematographer and visual effects artist, and acts as Before Nikkah’s cinematographer, so it’s no wonder the film looks great. The camera often follows Sara and Is as they stroll around the streets of London, stopping at Hampstead Heath, a cinema or a crepe stall. It all feels relaxed and intimate, like watching a pair of your mates chatting.
This is helped by the two lead performances. Vadher and Shukal have an easy, believable chemistry which grows as the film progresses. Although mostly by design, the start of their journey is as awkward as you’d imagine, but also stilted in a way that doesn’t feel entirely authentic. Marcus Flemmings’s script is full of heavy exposition, and Vadher and Shukal can’t quite sell it at the beginning when their bond isn’t there to carry the film.
Before Nikkah, like all the films in Linklater’s Before trilogy, is measured in it pacing. Not much happens, and it can feel a little long even at 92 minutes. Some of its clunkier scenes feel especially difficult to get through. “You buy vinyls?” Is asks Sara after she stumbles into the same record store as he at the beginning. The scene feels like it’s borrowed from a much worse film that still relies on old stereotypes, and it certainly has no place in a film like this.
Another scene finds Is sending an awkward voice note to his ex, whom he still misses. Is isn’t particularly gifted in the art of sending a casual voice note to a past lover – who is? – and needs Sara’s guidance. It’s a genuinely hilarious scene, but it’s also the only one of its kind, and thus feels out of place.
There’s a lot to like about Before Nikkah. It’s pleasant, endearing even, but needed that extra little push to go from good to great. It’s still well worth your time for the performances alone. Before Nikkah will likely make you feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside, just as films like this should.
Before Nikkah is in UK cinemas 12th February.
