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Film review

A name can hold the seeds of destiny

That's why an Americanized youth, named for a Russian writer, returns to his Indian roots in The Namesake.

By Steve Persall
Published March 29, 2007

Ties that bind families can also strangle new generations straining to break free of traditions. That's the dramatic core of The Namesake, Mira Nair's gracefully sprawling generational drama based on Jhumpa Lahiri's acclaimed novel.

The Namesake is a work of plentiful pleasures, perhaps too many for a two-hour film that occasionally leaps in time, leaving viewers to piece together what has happened. Events that forge an Indian family, test its resolve in a new country and seduce a young man into becoming Americanized are delicately detailed, yet deserve more attention.

But when was the last time you wished a movie were longer? The Namesake is that rare occurrence.

Nair's film focuses on the Ganguli clan, headed by gentle Ashoke Irfan Khan, introduced during a train ride that turns tragic. The consequences aren't immediately revealed; Nair slyly plays her drama cards for surprising effect. From the wreckage we're flashed back to 1970s Calcutta, when Ashoke accepted an arranged marriage to Ashima (Tabu) and these emotional strangers immigrated to New York.

The Namesake traces the same path of assimilation as In America for a while: Ashima's separation from her roots leads to loneliness. Each time she steps outside their modest apartment she's burned by the melting pot experience, in surroundings far different from home.

Nair's films, such as Monsoon Wedding, patiently portray Hindu culture, never claiming it to be better, only different and deeply steeped in customs. Westerners will recognize devotions we've lost and some we should have adopted.

Those lessons are harder for oldest son Gogol (Kal Penn), who is raised to adulthood on no time, thanks to Nair's time-skip format. Gogol was named for Ashoke's favorite author, Nikolai Gogol. It is his "good name" in Hindu tradition, but he can't imagine fitting into Western culture with it, so he prefers to be called Nick. That's his first, tentative act of defiance; it hurts Ashoke and Ashima more than they will admit.

Nick strays farther off the traditional path by falling in love with a white American named Maxine (Jacinda Barrett) and spending more time with her affluent family than his own. That will change, but not until Nick understands why he is Nikolai Gogol's namesake. A family tragedy compels him to Hindu devotion that Maxine won't accept.

All this leads to the conclusion that it is better to embrace rather than escape heritage, no matter which part of the world it comes from. Nair's focus is on Indians, yet The Namesake brims with colorblind humanity.

Nair coaxes fine performances from nearly everyone, especially Khan and Tabu, effortlessly emoting veterans of the Bollywood film industry. Penn drops his Van Wilder/Harold & Kumar clowning to create a wonderfully conflicted character.

The weak link is Barrett, whose cliched debutante role falls victim to Nair's rush to cover so much fertile material.

The Namesake is beautifully photographed by Frederick Elmes and benefits from Nitin Sawhney's sitar-driven musical score. Nair's deft handling of truncated source material doesn't feel abrupt, nor does it feel entirely warranted. Chances for a sequel are slim to none, but that might make for an equally memorable film.

Steve Persall can be reached at (727) 893-8365 or persall@sptimes.com.

Review

The Namesake

Grade: A-

Director: Mira Nair

Cast: Kal Penn, Irfan Khan, Tabu, Jacinda Barrett, Sahira Nair, Zuleika Robinson

Screenplay: Sooni Taraporevala, based on the novel by Jhumpa Lahiri

Rating: PG-13; sexual situations, brief drug content, profanity, disturbing images

Running time: 122 min.

[Last modified March 28, 2007, 10:03:10]