★★★★☆ New York-based Indian director Mira Nair was well-placed to helm a big-screen adaptation of Mohsin Hamid's novel The Reluctant Fundamentalist - and thankfully hasn't disappointed. In this post-9/11 drama, the world of business and the unremitting pursuit of wealth are juxtaposed with religious extremism. The story's main focus is the mutual distrust between East and West and how feelings of alienation can lead to fundamentalism. Changez Khan (Riz Ahmed) comes from a cultured, yet struggling Pakistani family. He wins a scholarship to study at Princeton and lands a job as a financial analyst on Wall Street.

Changez's mentor, tough, uncompromising Jim Cross (Kiefer Sutherland), admires his ambition and his bravado in the face of hardship, and swiftly promotes his protégée. When Changez begins a relationship with the beautiful artist-cum-photographer, Erica (Kate Hudson) it looks as though he has his life mapped out. As Changez freely admits, he loves the...