Slumdog Millionaire comes from director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon
Beaufoy, who fashion what is at heart a romance into a mystery and a thriller
with Dickensian undertones. It's tough not to think of David Copperfield when
we see the "orphanage" to which the film's main character is consigned during
his youth. What's more, this filmmaking team has found a new and inventive way
to approach the storyline that not only invigorates the material but adds a
whole new layer to it.Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is a poor boy from the slums of
Mumbai who finds himself center stage opposite a smug host being watched by 90
million people on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Improbably, Jamal is able to answer question after question, answering the
penultimate query and earning 10 million rupees just as time runs out for the
episode. The next day, he will return with a chance at the biggest prize.
However, that night, the police take Jamal in
for questioning, certain that he has cheated. After being tortured, he
explains to them how he knew the answer to every question. This results in a
flashback-rich tour of Jamal's life and the two recurring characters in it: his
violent brother, Salim (Madhur Mittal), and the girl he loves, Latika (Freida
Pinto). Growing up together, they were the "Three Musketeers" until
circumstances tore them apart. It soon becomes apparent that Slumdog
Millionaire isn't actually about how Jamal did so well on a TV game show, but
whether there will be a happy ending to his found her-lost her-found her-lost
her-found her- lost her relationship with Latika. With Garry Marshall, a happy
ending would be mandatory, but Danny Boyle isn't nearly as conventional.
The film has all the elements necessary to make it a major winner when it
enters general release. It's superbly acted, wonderfully photographed, and
contains enough English not to chase away the subtitle-phobic. The story works
on multiple levels - it can be seen as a sweeping romance, as a thriller, or as
a glimpse at the ways in which a fast-developing economy is convulsing the
fabric of Indian society. Some of the film's funniest and most satirical scenes
occur within a massive call bank where customer service operatives try to
convince callers that they are not, in fact, located in a foreign country.
Some films keep viewers on the outside looking in, able to appreciate the
production in technical terms but not on other, more basic levels. This is not
the case with Slumdog Millionaire. Boyle's feature draws the viewer in,
immersing him in a fast-moving, engaging narrative featuring a protagonist who
is so likeable it's almost unfair. The movie has moments of heartbreak and
tragedy but it is ultimately uplifting and contains pretty much all the
instances an audience will want. Boyle has come a long way to get to this point
from Shallow Grave and Trainspotting but, after experiencing the pleasure of
Slumdog Millionaire, I'm glad it's a road he has elected to take. ("I am
located just around the corner from you, Ma'am…")
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