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 Slumdog Millionaire
Drama. UK, USA, Dir. Danny Boyle with Dev Patel and Freida Pinto
opens FEBRUARY 27
The film opens with Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) one answer away from becoming a millionaire. To everyone's surprise - even his own - a young man from the poorest slum of Mumbai has somehow managed to get every question right as a contestant on the world-famous game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire. He's managed to win ten million rupees and is poised to rise up to the 20 million Rs mark. There's just no explanation for how a slumdog like Jamal could ever have figured out the answers to these questions. And in an instant, he's got the police on his back, interrogating him ruthlessly as to the details of how he managed the scam.
The interrogation brings forth a story of incredible hardship, pain, loss, poverty, loyalty, betrayal, obsession, love, virtue, kindness and cruelty. It follows the life of a slumdog who spent his life running - running away from the horrors of reality and running straight into the stuff of trivia, the very images and facts that flash through the lives of those at the top and bottom of the wheel of fortune. As Jamal's paths cross with all walks of life, he's provided with the answers to all those questions that win him his hard-won victory. The suggestion that one's destiny is in fact written, no matter how painful the road to that destiny, seems to be the driving force of the plot. Because at the end of the road, there's not only a big pot of gold, but he's finally triumphed in attaining the love he had fought so hard for, a prize more precious than any stash of cash. Jamal's personal story also follows the evolution of a city and people, from a disease-ridden slum to a gleaming city of call-center skyscrapers and luxury apartment buildings.
Director Danny Boyle of Trainspotting fame demonstrates his sheer talent yet again, while Bristish screenwriter Simon Beaufroy (The Full Monty) reaches genius in his adaptation of Vikas Swarup's prize-winning novel Q&A. With over a dozen nominations and awards already under its belt, it's safe to say the film will figure big at the Oscars this year. Still, it's worth a look before the buzz overshadows the delicate sensitibility of this low-budget underdog. After all, this is a film that was never expected to rise up out of the gutter and outdo the Benjamin Buttons and Changelings of the cinematic world.
A must-see pinata full of sweet surprises - it's even got a Bollywood-style dance homage to the original genre at the very end. Awesome and inspiring. (CB & AL)
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