Slumdog Millionaire is one of the most talked about movies of the year. Directed by Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later), it has been on both viewers and critics top 5 lists lately. I saw this at the Garneau Theater a few weeks ago, and it definitely lived up to alot of the hype.
First off, one of the reasons this movie has received so much attention is because of its all bollywood cast. The film takes place in India, and features a cast of non-actors. This gives people a chance to judge the movie entirely based on story and visual style, not just the actors in the movie. This movie combines an indie film simplistic view with a flashy visual style to good effect. The visual style manages to retain the depth of the story, while keeping the watcher interested the entire time, a hard mix to do well.
While the story is overall fairly straightforward, although the timeline is presented out of order. To summarize, Jamal, a young “slumdog” has won the majority of the Indian “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”. Assuming he has been cheating, he is ruthlessly interrogated. In order to prove his innocence, he must explain how he knows each answer, and the majority of the story is told this way. It gets the viewer interested right off the bat, and then fill out the rest of the story as it goes. This really works in this case, and adds up to quite an enjoyable and unpredictable telling.
On the downside, the movie is accused of being emotionally manipulative. Basically, it is inescapably single minded story telling, there is no room for opinion or interpretation. The lack of subtext and depth is the biggest drawback of this movie for me. It seems like a great first watch, but when the surprises are gone, there really is not alot left to discover about Slumdog. A shame really, as the first time through is so enjoyable.
Overall, the movie earns 6.9 / 10 in my books.
It was very entertaining and unique, however falls flat upon further exploration.
