|
'The Namesake' movie review |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Written by Steven Rea, McClatchy-Tribune
|
|
Thursday, 15 March 2007 |
|
|
|
|
___
THE NAMESAKE
3 ½ stars
Produced by Lydia Dean Pilcher and Mira Nair, directed by Nair, written by Sooni Taraporevala, based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, photography by Frederick Elmes, music by Nitin Sawhney, distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures.
Running time: 2 hours, 2 mins.
Ashoke/Irrfan Khan
Ashima/Tabu
Gogol/Kal Penn
Maxine/Jacinda Barrett
Moushumi/Zuleikha Robinson
Parent's guide: PG-13 (sex, profanity, adult themes)
——
Mira Nair's "The Namesake" is a celebration of real family values — of the love between father and son, between husband and wife, mother and daughter. It's about cultural heritage and personal legacy, about the things that change across generations, and the things that stay the same. It's a tearjerker, sometimes, and sweetly funny at other moments. It's near perfect.
Adapted from the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri, "The Namesake" begins in Calcutta in the 1970s, when Ashoke (Irrfan Khan), a young Bengali intellectual who a few years earlier survived a devastating train accident, enters into an arranged marriage with Ashima (the Bollywood star Tabu). She is beautiful, a classically trained singer who can recite Wordsworth — and she is more independent, and free-thinking, than her unquestioning acceptance of a stranger as husband would suggest.
Ashoke is living, and studying, in New York, and that is where the new Mr. and Mrs. Ganguli move after their wedding. It's winter, and the apartment is cold and run-down, and Ashima is slow to adjust to the differences, climatic and cultural. But Ashoke is a loving, gentle husband, and soon the couple are on their way in pursuit of the American Dream. A job is found (Ashoke is an engineer). A house is purchased. Children are born: a son, Gogol, named after Ashoke's favorite author, and a daughter, Sonia.
Nair ushers "The Namesake" along unhurriedly, observing the telling details of life in the States, and in India. Slowly, the focus changes from Ashoke to Gogol, played, as a young man, by Kal Penn, of the stoner cult hit "Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle."
A first-generation American, Gogol rebels against many of the traditions extolled by his parents and his army of "aunties." He also wants nothing to do with his name, a source of ridicule at school. Instead, he goes by Nick — his formal name is Nikhil.
Nick falls into a serious romance with WASPy Maxine (Jacinda Barrett), a frisky blond Manhattanite with well-off parents and a country house by the water. He went to Yale University, studied architecture, and is intent on mapping his own route, shorn of the bothersome attachments and rituals his parents brought with them from Calcutta. But then things happen, as things are wont to do, and Gogol/Nick must reexamine his relationships, and himself.
Penn is terrific, keyed-in, alive in his role. So too are Khan and Tabu, in their incarnation as newlyweds, and later as middle-aged parents, seeking comfort from each other amid the silences of an empty house. (Daughter Sonia, played by Sahira Nair, has also moved on, and moved out.) A latecomer to the proceedings, a sophisticated South Asian beauty named Moushumi (Zuleikha Robinson), brings the possibility of tidy closure to "The Namesake."
But things are rarely that simple, or convenient, and Nair — who understands the complexities, and unexpected possibilities, inherent in the human experience — isn't one to wrap things up in a neat bow. Human drama on an intimate scale, "The Namesake" is rich, and revelatory. | Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register. |
|
|  | "Humankind cannot gain anything without first giving something in return. To obtain, something of equal value must be lost. That is Alchemy's first law of Equivalent Exchange. In those days, we really believed that to be the world's one, and only truth." | |
|  | We're not that bright, even though in our own little world, we're geniuses. We like 80s hair bands and one-hit wonders, but among us we have respectable tastes, too. Metallica, Iron Maiden, U2. Pursuit of all things trivial is a lifestyle, not just a game. We like some sports, love other sports, and can find something to say about anything. We watch TV and movies and we've read a book or two, even a few classics (Yes, Classic Comics count!)
We call it insight, you call it what you will. | |
|  | Felix Wong is an outdoor enthusiast living in Fort Collins. A mechanical engineer by day, he is especially passionate about bicycling, running, and backpacking. | |
|  | Hola Amigos! I'm Sandra. I like to believe that people are 70 percent good and 30 percent dumb. I'm stickin to that story. Reading this blog might make you want to be good, but probably just dumb. | |
|  | Donovan Henderson is editor of NEXTnc. | |
|  | Here at Nextnc we have some characters. Get a sneak peak behind the curtain and find out what amusing antics our staffers get themselves into on a weekly basis. | |
|  | What is up FoCo?
I am a recent college graduate of Minnesota State University Moorhead. After recieving my B.A. in English and Mass Communications this past August I moved down to Colorado.
I enjoy long walks on the beach, candlelight dinners, and heavy metal. My hobbies include reading and writing, music, movies, and getting drunk. Some of my favorite contemporary authors include Bret Easton Ellis, Chuck Palahniuk, and Kurt Vonnegut. My top movies are anything directed by Kubrick. I enjoy listening to anything that rocks.
Right now I am just trying to get to know Colorado and FoCo better. Mostly in order to find the best drink specials on each day that ends in Y. So if you know where I can get a cheap drunk on, let me know!
--Drew | |
|  | Life's little morsels of inspiration, observation and encouragement seen through the eyes of the Nextnc reporter.
| |
|  | Ms. Giles currently lives in Colorado where she stars in her own private reality show. She writes aphoristic accounts of her life, taken completely out of context, and embellished with characters and situations disguised to resemble something close to interesting. | |
|  | over and out | |
| | My name is Michelle Turley and I'm 28 years old. I live in Severance with my hubbie, Brandon. We have 2 dogs and a cat. We enjoy camping, four-wheeling, and just being in the mountains. I like to cook, clean (go figure), flea market, and play poker. I have so much to say about poker... | |
|
|
