The Namesake is pretty rough. There are going to be zillions of critics out there who tell you it’s an opus to Indian cultural heritage, a brilliant insight into the beautiful tapestry of America, but these people are lying. What the movie actually adds up to is about 45 undeveloped snapshots scattered around a cutting room floor. Also, it has two sets of opening credits. That’s poor form.
I’d like to give a quick and easy plot synopsis so we could get to the problems but the movie offers no such easy description. The plot seems to be that there is no plot. You probably know Kal Penn is here playing an Indian-American but you probably couldn’t tell from the poster that he’s not featured until about 45 minutes in. The Namesake seeks to be an epic and so I’ll just stamp it as such and move on. It’s linear story, about India, America, and family. Assigning any plot points past that is probably pointless.
Where The Namesake goes wrong is the overall premise (absent) and the development of characters. The development is handled in list mode, the director has gotten the idea that if you throw some music and quiet moments in then you’re all set. This is not the case. For instance, Kal Penn’s sister (in the movie) seems to be comprised solely of one characteristic. She calls him goggles. His name is Gogol. That’s her story, that’s what she’s given in this meaty tale. Yay! The same thing happens over and over with all the central characters here. Gogol’s dad was in an accident. Gogol’s mom is quiet. New York is cold. Bam, bam, bam, these images and the time progression represented are supposed to engage us but accomplish the exact opposite. We see Gogol in high school. He’s a stoner, but he’s headed to Yale. That’s all, that’s it. Bam! Move along to him as an adult! The other major problem is the premise as a whole. It’s treated as this great secret, the driving force behind the film, but once everything is revealed you’re left thinking “uh… ok.” It’s just not impressive.
The dialogue is atrocious too. Here’s an example:
The Setting: Gogol and a girlfriend getting frisky.
GOGOL: How did you get so sexy?
HER: Paris. I had a lot of lovers.
GOGOL: How many?
HER: You don’t want to know.
Huh??? Does that happen? You never follow up on that? It doesn’t break the mood? PARIS???
To give you an idea of the entertainment factor here’s a note I wrote while watching: I hope the movie starts soon. This was about an hour in. It’s a bit slow.
Time to pass out some kudos. I enjoyed the ceremonies shown here, the Indians seem to have a better connection with both grief and joy than the American archetype. Tabu, as Ashima Ganguli, is really solid in what is a very difficult part. Sadly Penn, the poster boy, isn’t noteworthy here, he’s not exactly bad but the movie doesn’t become any better once he makes his entrance. Sorry Kal!
I’d call this a pass unless you have the snobbiest of friends that you know will pretend to like it. It’s just a mish-mash of pretty images thrown together with some music, an overall directionless film. It’s an amazing story without the amazement (or the story). You get the idea, The Namesake is a skip regardless of what all the self important critics tell you.
