The Namesake


Starring: Kal Penn, Tabu, Irrfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett, Zuleikha Robinson, Sahira Nair
Directed by: Mira Nair
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Drama
2007

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: Follows an Indian family as they move to America, have children, and watch them grow up.

Review:

Tim: I was interested to see The Namesake. I didn't know much about the film, other than it is based on a best-selling novel and dealt with an Indian family living in the United States. This is a film that tackles its subject matter with class and honor, yet as a whole, falls just short in the quality department. This is a decent movie, but it's not a particularly great one.

On paper, this is a powerful drama that should really impact audiences. In many ways, the movie achieves at least part of this. It is pretty fascinating to watch two Indians make the movie halfway across the world to America, and then try and make the adjustments to living in a very different culture. We watch as they grow up, have children of their own, and then watch the struggles of the children as they grapple with being both Indian and American. It makes you think about different cultures and get out of your own cultural mindset. That is always a good thing, and I appreciate this film for opening up my mind as to the Indian culture and way of life.

The downside to all of this is that the movie feels quite long. At 122 minutes, the film is a bit difficult to sit through in certain stretches. While there are some very powerful scenes, there are some quite slow ones as well. The movie drags in too many places. I felt interested in the story, but there wasn't much of an emotional connection to any of these characters. That's one place where the movie falls down.

The cast does feel mostly good, though. I thought Tabu and Irrfan Khan worked well together as the Indian couple emigrating to America. Tabu does not seem like a very glamorous, flamboyant actress, but she works well with quiet reservation. She made me interested in her character. I also liked Khan quite a bit. Again, his stoic demeanor and quiet strength made him a fascinating character. These two worked well together and conveyed a sense of realism around arranged marriages. It is interesting to watch their life evolve, from their timid first meeting to raising a family together. Eventually we see their two children. The oldest is played by Kal Penn, who does a very good job. He is the perfect perfson to play an Americanized Indian. I loved watching the personal struggle between the different cultures in his life. I thought he did a very good job. I will say that I thought Sahira Nair was the weakest link of the family. As the youngest child, she feels completely out of place throughout the film. Her performance was not particularly strong, and I felt like the movie lost momentum whenever she had to speak.



It becomes pretty obvious early on that "the namesake" in the title refers to the oldest son, Gogol. He was named after his father's favorite author. The whole thing is very mysterious, and I found myself intrigued and wondering what the explanation would be. It was obvious that it was a central piece to the story. And so, I waited and waited and waited to find out the meaning and how that revelation would shift my view of the whole film. Unfortunately, I had to wait until the very end of the movie, and then, it was a bit anticlimactic. I haven't read the book, but I feel as if the mistake came from the script, not the novel. The explanation comes, but it's so vague that I didn't really grasp it. Minor spoilers ahead, so be warned. At the end, we seen a scene where Gogol's father says something like, "We all came out of Gogol's overcoat." I have no idea what this means. It seems like the final explanation of Gogol's naming is important to the characters, but it needed to have been better portrayed on screen. I felt a sense of disappointment and letdown more than anything. I'm not suggesting there needed to be a major twist or anything, but I wanted a more satisfying explanation. I understand that I would get it if I read the actual Gogol novel or explored Dostoevsky's quote about the overcoat, but the movie should have given more background. The movie drops the ball on this front.

As a whole, I thought The Namesake was a decent movie. It opens your eyes to Indian culture, and it makes you think about family, where our names come from, and how they shape our destiny. Those are definitely positive things. Unfortunately, the movie fumbles those messages a bit, and the film drags in too many places, which makes the already-long 122 minute run time feel even longer. I didn't love this movie, but I did respect what it was trying to achieve. I'd say this is a decent movie and at least it was a worthwhile attempt.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 6.5



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