Reviews & Previews - Slumdog Millionaire

Posted on Saturday, November 22, 2008 at 05:00 PM

Slumdog Millionaire

By: S. Tran

Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan
Directed By: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tanden
Running Time: 120 minutes
Rated: R

Worth Every Penny

It would be hard to name a director as versatile as Danny Boyle in the business today, or one who keeps improving as much. He showed his versatility going from a drug driven crime caper in Trainspotting to breathing fresh air into zombie films in the scary, yet intelligent, 28 Days Later.

With Slumdog Millionaire Boyle really roles up his sleeves and gives a master's class in film making along with his co-director Loveleen Tanden. The result is a powerful narrative backed up by an amazing cast, all presented in that distinctive, grainy visual style that Boyle has employed so effectively in the past.

Jamal (Patel) is a slumdog, a poor boy growing up in India's slums, who somehow manages to make it further than anyone on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He does well enough in fact that the smarmy, douchey host of the show (Kapoor) becomes suspicious and jealous enough to call the cops. While being interrogated by the local police chief (Khan), Jamal's life story unfolds, revealing how he came to know answers to questions that a poor, uneducated boy should not know.

The game show is just dressing for this film. The real movie is about Jamal's funny, tragic and at times horrific life as one of India's underprivileged and his search for love. The traumas that Jamal is forced to experience make you sad, angry, horrified and fascinated all at the same time. Some of the best moments of the movie for me were watching the younger version of Jamal running wild through the slums.

If the story were just about the terrible things that happens to people in Jamal's situation though it would have been a tough two hours. Luckily, Boyle and the screenwriter's fill out the story by adding humor and even moments of joy. The film also refrains from becoming too preachy. This isn't an expose on the living conditions in Indian slums asking us to feel sorry for those living there. At its core its a story about hope, life and love. It's a feel good story that makes you really work to get that feeling.

A story like this doesn't work without some great acting and this movie has that by the bucketful. I really couldn't find fault with any of the main characters in this movie. I have to admit my Bollywood movie collection is pretty small and I only recognized the police chief, Infar Khan from "The Namesake". He's back here proving why he is one of the most famous actors in India.

However Patel and Pinto, who plays his love interest Latika, have to carry the core of the film as she provides the motivation for much of what Jamal does. The two do a good job in their roles. Patel reminds me a bit of a slightly angrier version of John Cera from Juno. He is not good looking by most standards but he manages to give a charming, understated performance.

For her part Pinto is only hampered by the fact that she doesn't really have much to do in a lot of scenes except wait for Jamal to come find her. Maybe I was a little distracted by her looks (according to something I read she has recently become one of the most Googled people on the net) but I thought she was believable as the frightened girl, just trying to stay alive despite her hard life.

I would be doing a huge disservice to the film without mentioning the children who played the younger Jamal and his brother Salim though. I do not know where the casting agents found these two young boys but they were excellent. There are very few child actors anywhere who could match the natural and engaging performances by these two talented actors.

The story, and acting are backed up by some great camera work and an enjoyable soundtrack which introduces most of us to some interesting new music. I found it amazing that Boyle and his camera crew were able to infuse so much color into the scenes shot in the slums, making them come alive. It also opened my eyes when the camera pulled back showing us the extent of these poor areas and the harshness of the lives there.

I've never been to India so I can't say whether Boyle's depiction of India was accurate or not, but as this wasn't a documentary I'm not sure that matters. What matters was that his version of India was fascinating and enjoyable to watch; definitely one of the films you have to see this year.

4.5 out of 5 stars.