The Space Between Us

The Space Between Us, a melodrama set in modern Bombay, focuses on Bhima, a slum-dwelling servant struggling to make a life for herself and her granddaughter, another orphan, with the added burden of an out-of-wedlock pregnancy. Though poignant at times (lower-caste Bhima must take her tea at her employer’s home crouched on her haunches, not at the table), Thirty Umrigar’s Space ultimately lacks narrative flair.

• By Missy Schwartz