The Namesake

Lara and I caught the movie The Namesake yesterday. It's the story about a Bengali couple who got together through an arranged marriage, uprooted themselves from India and settled down in the States to start their family.

Based on a book (which I suspect would be a much detailed read), the protagonist portrayed in the movie is the couple's son, Gogol, whose name was a source of reminder of where he came from and how he often tried to distance himself from that very heritage. A huge part of the movie is on him but it was really the older couple's love that I thought swept everything away. Their love was not over the top but believable, and truly held the story together. I especially like the part how Ashima (the wife) told Ashok (the husband) she liked his shoes when he asked why she picked him out amongst all the matchmaking suitors *winks*.

Kudos to the actress who played Ashima, Gogol's mother, who carried herself convincingly from a fearful young girl to the mother who felt like a stranger from her kids and eventually the grieving widow. This show is a definite keeper; I'm off to get the book.

~SeamonkeY~