Slumdog Millionaire-2008
Director Danny Boyle
Starring Dev Patel
Scott’s Review #786
Reviewed July 11, 2018
Grade: A-
Winner of the 2008 Best Picture Oscar (as well as seven other Academy Awards), Slumdog Millionaire (2008) arguably was the “feel-good” film of the year.
While I am not sure all those awards are ultimately deserved, the film is nonetheless very good, offering a mix of rich culture, a young man overcoming enormous odds, and a love story.
Fans of the universal game show hit, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, will be pleased.
Young Dev Patel (critically acclaimed for 2016’s Lion) stars as a poor young Indian man, Jamal Malik.
He is detained after being a contestant on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire after he came one question away from winning a million dollars.
The producers go on a commercial break, and Jamal is whisked away to custody as suspicions are aroused and the young man is accused of cheating. Since he is a “slumdog” and poorly educated, it is assumed that he could not know all the answers.
Jamal recounts, through flashbacks and experience, how he came to know all the correct answers.
Director Danny Boyle does a fantastic job. Slumdog Millionaire is edited in a fast-paced fashion, and the camera angles are quick and stylized, making for an excellent flow.
The soundtrack to the film is very effective and enhances the plot. For example, the music is extremely diverse, featuring genres such as traditional Indian classical music, European house music, and American-style hip hop.
This is an ingenious way for Boyle to incorporate multiple cultures, and he therefore creates a rousing, crowd-pleasing experience.
Another successful aspect of the film is its use of knowledge and intelligence to tell a story.
As we experience Jamal’s difficult life, beginning as a five-year-old orphan, his unlikely success story and his adventures on the streets are intertwined with both life lessons and education.
The audience is learning important details about the world while Jamal is simultaneously.
The romantic love story featured in Slumdog Millionaire is also a highlight and extremely well-crafted. Heartbreakingly, Jamal, his older brother Salim, and the lovely Latika (later played by the gorgeous Freida Pinto) are on the run when Latika vanishes.
Her disappearance and later reappearance are vital aspects to the heart of the film, and Patel and Pinto make a handsome and highly likable couple. Their reconciliation is heartfelt and beautiful, and gives the film a nice emotional investment.
The incorporation of a relevant and acclaimed game show into the story is wonderful, though hopefully, as the years go by, the film does not suffer from a dated feel if and when Who Wants to Be a Millionaire is long forgotten, but alas, this is a risk, and only time will tell.
The glossy set and for American audiences, the Indian-style version of the game show is great fun, as are the Indian locales, which visually dazzle.
A slight detraction of Slumdog Millionaire is that the film is unquestionably uplifting and light-hearted. Even though the characters face peril and dangerous experiences, the film “feels” safe.
So much so that qualities such as slick and mainstream resound.
Don’t get me wrong, the film is genuine and has heart and soul, but just slightly too cheery. Of course, since the film is well-made and the story and acting are great, this can easily be overlooked.
Slumdog Millionaire (2008) is a wonderful piece of work and, quite simply, a film that many people will champion. All of the elements are perfectly in place, which is a main selling point and a prime reason for the film’s many accolades.
The romance and adventure pieces are the best parts, with a quick flow and lots of fun, educational tools utilized.
The film is a nice pleasure to experience.
Oscar Nominations: 8 wins-Best Picture (won), Best Director-Danny Boyle (won), Best Adapted Screenplay (won), Best Original Score (won), Best Original Song-“Jai Ho”, “O Saya”(won), Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing (won), Best Cinematography (won), Best Film Editing (won)