Review

Review Date: 25-March-07
Spoiler Rating: Medium
Juju Judgment: Juicy

The Namesake (2007)

Jhumpa Lahiri's 2003 book The Namesake was a subtly moving story about the experiences of an Indian family living in the United States. The title character is the son of one Ashoke Ganguli and his wife Ashima, and his name, Gogol, comes from the Russian writer who played a big role in his father's life. Back in India before his arranged wedding, Ashoke had a defining experience in which he survived a train wreck while reading Gogol's The Overcoat. Bestowing this name after moving to America becomes a defining moment for his son, who struggles to grow up within the expectations of both his ancestral and native cultures.

Mira Nair's telling of the story is equally subtle and moving and captures the textures of a novel. Indian culture offers fertile ground for moviemakers with its affinity for ornament and color, but Nair also finds beauty in mundane New World objects like airport billboards and cheesy Christmas lights. Beyond the detail, however, her camera focuses on the Gangulis, whose simple, probably typical immigrant lives are rife with valuable lessons. Playing Gogol in his teens and twenties, Kal Penn appears decently befuddled as he first tries to abandon his heritage through such means as a spoiled New England WASP (Jacinda Barrett) and then guiltily tries to embrace it through such means as a hot-blooded American-Bengali (Zuleikha Robinson). Yet all roads on his journey lead back to his parents, the beautiful mother (Tabu) whose "best years" are spent away from her beloved homeland, and the quiet father (Irrfan Khan) who always holds the family together. Gogol owns the title, but Ashoke (with Khan's wonderfully endearing performance) is pivotal to the film. At different times both Ashima and Gogol literally step into his shoes, and the steadiness they derive from this propels them. "The Namesake" is finally the history of how Ashoke's near-death experience taught him to cherish the things that could make him happy — old or new, traditional or unexpected — and how he managed over the years to convey this spirit to his son. It's a powerful legacy which Nair passes on with aplomb.

Copyright © 2007 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.