The Namesake

The Namesake **1/2

Directed by Mira Nair
Written by Sooni Taraporevala, based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri

Starring:
Kal Penn as Gogol Ganguli
Irfan Khan as Ashoke Ganguli
Tabu as Ashima Ganguli
Jacinda Barrett as Maxine Ratliff
Zuleikha Robinson as Moushumi Mazumdar
Sahira Nair as Sonia Ganguli
Glenne Headly as Lydia Ratliff
Daniel Gerroll as Gerald Ratliff

122 Minutes(Rated PG-13 for sexuality/nudity, a scene of drug use, some disturbing images and brief language).
------------------------------------
I read "The Namesake" about two months ago when I found out that there was a movie version coming out very soon. Oddly enough, after watching the film, I realized that I had the same problems with the movie as I did with the book. The book contains far too many characters and situations in such a short amount of time that I found myself incapable of caring about any of the characters. Half of them seem tacked on and nothing like genuine people. It also is a story with so many contradicting messages that I don't exactly know what the original point was. And somehow through all of this, I managed to find a little bit of heart, a few very good performances and some beautiful images of India. It's the screenplay that needs to change, but sadly the original source wasn't exactly perfect in my eyes anyway.

"The Namesake" tells the saga of the Ganguli family, beginning with the marriage of Ashoke and Ashima. Ashoke married Ashima in India, but was persuaded to move to the United States on a train ride where he met a man who told him to travel. Ashoke wanted to remain in India, but when the train derailed he realized that life was too short to just stay in one place. Ashimia isn't exactly happy in America, but manages to find a way to make her life, especially when she gives birth to a baby boy. They name the boy Gogol, which defers away from family tradition in that her grandmother was supposed to have a name. There is also a difference in Indian names-they all have two names, a public name and a name for use in the family. When the family wants to call him Nikhil when he goes to school, and then call him Gogol at home, Gogol refuses and prefers Gogol. Years later Gogol is grown up, and when he learns about the Russian author Gogol, whom his father adored growing up, he wants to change it back to Nikhil. We then follow the newly dubbed Nikhil through his relationships, marriage, and family problems, as he gains a new found appreciation for his culture and the name that he was originally given-and even why that name was given to him. We also follow his family as they deal with his relationship with Maxine, an American girl who doesn't fit into what Gogol's mother planned for him-to marry a woman of his own race.

My problem with the book was that it was too fast paced to the point where I couldn't even find a connection to any of the characters. They all end up zooming in and out the entire time that I couldn't like them. The movie does something similar, with the only characters you relate to being Gogol's parents, and that only because they gave them a little back story. It also helps that Irfan Khan and Tabu are very good actors, giving a perfect amount of depth to rather two dimensional characters. Secondary characters like Maxine are hard to like, even though its impossible to dislike Jacinda Barrett. I also disliked a subplot where Gogol marries Moushima, an Indian girl who ends up having an affair. Both in the book and on the screen the plot seemed tacked on, especially with Maxine being the focal point of the story. It was almost an afterthought. There are multiple contradicting messages as well. The movie seems to be about respecting heritage, but Gogol has his heart broken when he marries someone of his own race like he is supposed to. It's almost as if the message is to respect your own culture but also be open to others, which is something that Gogol wants to do but then can't because of his family's wants.

"The Namesake" has moments of genuine heart and for the most part it is a pretty enjoyable film. It isn't anything great, and like the novel it achieves moments of strong melodrama which goes past sweet and goes directly to over the top. It was pleasant to see Kal Penn in a serious role for a change, and maybe he'll drift away from the awful work of "Van Wilder" and of late "Epic Movie." At least this character was a character and not just a one joke side show like everything else he's ever done. This is a beautifully shot film, and offers some great shots of India, especially near the Taj Mahal. It's ironic that one character would say that "books are around so that you could travel without moving an inch," because this film allows you to travel by only sitting in a darkened theatre. "The Namesake" is an interesting and sometimes touching films that looses focus because it never really had one to begin with. I suppose that the best word for it is "decent." It's impossible to hate, but also not something to love.