The Namesake (2007)

It felt like a book, and I'm not altogether sure that's a compliment this time. It was kind of long and slow through several portions.

I did get to know the characters fairly well, but I still felt as though I was being held at arm's length. For example, it was only after the children were adults that I got a sense of their childhood (through conversation and verbalized memories). I was missing the information as to whether they'd been happy or sullen -- if their childhood was American or Bengali. I didn't even know that the father was a professor until near the end of the film.

Still, a good movie. It just seemed as though I was unnecessarily in the dark. I was glad that they didn't settle for the simple "marry a Bengali for guaranteed happiness" moral that I thought they were heading for.

B-