We watched the Namesake yesterday. I had loved the book for its true-to-life depictions of a student-immigrant’s life and thoughts. Everybody was compassionately presented. So I had high hopes for the movie, but the movie fell far short of my expectations.
Instead of telling a story, Mira Nair has hijacked the movie to show off her mastery of visuals. It’s a self-aggrandizing movie in which precious seconds are spend showing snow melting while Ashima’s development from dependence to independence is not explored well. A visit to the Taj, a passing mention in the book, takes up several scenes and is an excuse for Mira Nair to capture the squalor or Calcutta (yes, she shows the hand-drawn rickshaw) and the majesty of the Taj. The centrality of the train accident to the movie is not at all clear in the movie.
I agree with Jhumpa Lahiri’s view that Mira Nair has succeeded in telling a Bengali story in the stereotypical Bengali movie style. Not a mean feat, considering that Nair doesn’t come from that tradition. But what’s the point? Her job is to tell a story and fails miserably at that. This is a huge waste of a good story, in my humble opinion.
This is a good story that deserves to be told better and I would gladly contribute $200 to any amateurs who want to remake this movie. Robert Rodriguez shot El Mariachi for $7,000 or something back in 1992; so I am convinced that amateurs can literally make a better movie than this.
Maybe famous directors shouldn’t direct good stories because they may end up obscuring the story and putting their stamp on. Peter Jackson deserves much praise for having the humility to stay true to the book.
