Film review: Slumdog Millionaire Jan 9 2009<http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/news/2009/01/09/>by Gavin Allen <http://www.walesonline.co.uk/authors/gavin-allen/>, Western Mail
IT'S usually annoyingly easy to identify an Oscar contender – a worthy drama, epic romance or big name biopic – but Slumdog Millionaire is a film that could change everything. It is a rare thing, a film as original as it is brilliant, so original in fact that it may just destroy and rebuild the way Hollywood interacts with overseas film industries in one virtuoso camera swoop. The biggest problem this film faces will be getting sceptical audiences into the cinema, but once word of mouth kicks in the chances are Slumdog Millionaire will provide director Danny Boyle with the biggest hit of his career; yes, bigger and more influential than Trainspotting. When we meet Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) he is in the contestant's chair on India's version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. Overnight, with just one question left to answer, Jamal is brutally questioned by police who suspect him of cheating. How could an 18-year-old "slumdog" possibly have all the answers? In custody, Jamal recounts his life story to prove each answer was provided by experience in a life where he was raised by older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) after the boys lost their mother during a religious uprising. The pair befriend orphan girl Latika (Freida Pinto) but fall into the clutches of child slave traders, only to escape to life on the teeming Mumbai streets. But there Salim falls into a life of violent crime under a gang lord who forces Latika into prostitution and then marriage. Jamal dreams of having enough money to rescue the woman he loves and extricate all three from lives of hardship; could the TV show be his answer? Slumdog Millionaire is no art film, neither is it a worthy cause to support, it's a legitimate emotional blockbuster; a tear-jerking love story, a harsh social drama and a heartwarming coming of age story. More importantly this is the first real meshing of Hollywood and Bollywood film culture. It will be a huge hit with Indian and Western audiences and the combined potential box office revenues will send studios scrabbling to clone it and cash in. The acting is pitch perfect, from Anil Kapoor's slimy TV host to Irffan Khan's sympathetic police sergeant via Mittal's hot-headed sibling and Pinto's stunning love interest, while Skins actor Dev Patel makes a noble hero. Yet each of the three leads is played by three actors in varying stages of their youth and all the young performers display staggering maturity and natural charm, as they bring to life an awesome script by Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty). But Danny Boyle has to take most credit. His masterful direction cohesively unites the disparate elements (humour, action, romance, drama) while realising it with kinetic visuals and a pulsatingly authentic score from AR Rahman. In this centrifuge of originality and quality, it most recalls Sergio Leone's masterpiece Once Upon A Time In America, which is about as high a compliment as I can pay a director. This is genuinely visionary filmmaking. 5 out of 5 http://www.walesonline.co.uk/showbiz-and-lifestyle/news/2009/01/09/film-review-slumdog-millionaire-91466-22648915/ -- regards, Vithur
