The Namesake (2007)
Directed by Mira Nair
***
The unfortunate, unintentional lesson of this film is that a good start isn't everything. The first half hour of the film is lovely, lush, and the most successful, wonderful 30 minutes of film that Mira Nair has so far created. However, somewhere in the middle of this trans-national story, the wheels fall off. It's the story of the American-born Gogol, his name, and his Indian-born parents. This sort of 'crossing-over' film has been done several times before, and it was sad to me that even Bend It Like Beckham succeeded better than this one. Part of the problem is Kal Penn, who doesn't bring much weight at all to his part, but a great deal of the blame lies with the director and screenwriter, who somehow lost their creative bearings after things were off to a good start. My recommendation is to read the novel and skip the film. Because it's only the first half hour that kept me from giving this less than 3 stars.
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