A moving lovingly crafted tribute to first generation Americans that rings true regardless of ethnic origin. A must see!

A powerful, moving film that everyone can relate to -- in particular those trying to meld the cultures of East and West and create a sense of home. Mira Nair's best work.

This is a hard-hitting movie. So real and true to life and yet so beautifully crafted. Amazing work done by the actors of the movie, especially by Irfan Khan and Tabu. Excellent direction by Mira Nair. Its like reading the novel without the book, its like living with the characters themselves. It just doesnt get better. Its thought provoking.

The movie is very rich and satisfying. The picture was beautifully laid out and captivating the entire time. A reviewer below said the book is better than the movie. I

A splendid movie. Mira Nair's movies are always beautiful to look at, the story and characters match the vibrant, realistic visuals.

Excellent movie. Not as good as book though.

Excellent family story of typical intergenerational communiction problems. It is not just because of cultural differences that families do not communicate well, but it does add a lot to this story. Excellent acting and plausable twists kept me interested as did the deep emotional content of the material and actors. I cared about this family and their well-being.

To its credit, "The Namesake"(which tops the two-hour mark), could've been a lot longer without causing anybody(who isn't a philistine) to check their watches. If a director's cut exists, that's where we'll learn how Gogol Ganguli(Kal Penn) met Maxine(Jacinda Barrett). "The Namesake" has a truncated feel because Gogol is already treated like a member of Maxine9;s wealthy family when the audience is first introduced to her. Perhaps the filmmaker simply wanted to avoid the predictability involved in seeing a white family adjust to their offspring's "exotic" new friend, if acceptance into the fold is going to be the end-result anyway. "The Namesake" does a terrific job of not turning Maxine into an ugly American when she's inside the Ganguli household. Contrary to Maxine(who for the most part seems unaware of her countless faux pas' to Indian customs), Gogol and his sister are consciously arrogant about their American-ness when they return to their native India. "The Namesake" is mostly an amazing film about being an American on a cultural group's own terms.… Expand

Fantastic, real, alluring, with the smells of Calcutta and NY blended together 2 great cities of the modern world with history that spans and ties people across the globe. Bengali's should be proud!!!