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The Namesake

The Namesake

Drama · 2006

The American-born son of Indian immigrants strives to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.

Movie details

The Namesake

“Two Worlds. One Journey.”

2006 Drama 2h 2m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.8 / 10

Community rating

The American-born son of Indian immigrants strives to fit in among his fellow New Yorkers despite his family's unwillingness to let go of their traditional ways.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Namesake?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Mira Nair

Written by

Sooni Taraporevala

Kal Penn

Kal Penn

Gogol / Nikhil

Irrfan Khan

Irrfan Khan

Ashoke Ganguli

Tabu

Tabu

Ashima Ganguli

Jacinda Barrett

Jacinda Barrett

Maxine Ratliffe

Zuleikha Robinson

Zuleikha Robinson

Moushumi Mazoomdar

Ruma Guha Thakurta

Ruma Guha Thakurta

Ashoke's Mother

Sabyasachi Chakraborty

Sabyasachi Chakraborty

Ashima's Father

Court is in session

Put The Namesake on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.