The Namesake

Went out last night and saw The Namesake, based on the Jhumpa Lahiri novel. Translating a novel that covers 30-years in the lives of one family is never going to be easy, but Mira Nair did a commendable job. You don't get to know the characters as well as you do in the novel, but we get to the know them as best we can. The main themes of the novel -- family, the immigrant experience, loss, love -- are still strongly felt. The ending is a slight departure from the novel, but I think it works well.

I consider myself a fan of Mira Nair, I loved Monsoon Wedding, but was rather indifferent about Vanity Fair, so I was very happy that The Namesake turned out so well.

Kal Penn does a decent job as Gogol, but not as good a job as I was hoping. Penn's strength seems to be more on the Harold and Kumar end of the dramatic spectrum. Don't take that as too strong a criticism, I loved Harold and Kumar. The real star of the movie was Tabu as Ashima, the scenes when she wakes up to a cold, snowy winter morning after having arrived from India are wonderful.

I highly recommend you take time to see the movie.

Now it's time to go re-read the novel...