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'Slumdog Millionaire' Movie Review

About.com Rating 5 Star Rating
User Rating 3.5 Star Rating (3 Reviews) Write a review

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'Slumdog Millionaire' Movie Review

Poster for 'Slumdog Millionaire.'

© Fox Searchlight
What makes Slumdog Millionaire one of the best films of 2008?

A) It's something we haven't seen a million times before
B) The acting is incredible
C) It tells a compelling, alternately heart-wrenching and heartwarming story
D) Director Danny Boyle captures Mumbai in all its complexities, but never loses sight of each individual character

No need to phone a friend or ask the audience for help on this one. And asking for your 50/50 lifeline would lead you further away from the right answer, which is actually all of the above. I know that wasn't an option, but cut me some slack as the actual Who Wants to be a Millionaire? show only allows four choices. I had a difficult time as it was cutting down the possible right answers to just four. Chopping it to three and adding an 'all of the above' response just wasn't an option.

Based on the book Q&A by Vikas Swarup, Slumdog Millionaire is an incredibly absorbing tale made all the more impressive by the fact director Danny Boyle shot it in Mumbai on a tiny budget. Boyle cast young actors with little or no experience in the main roles, and got from them gripping performances seasoned actors would have had difficulty pulling off.

The Story

How can an uneducated, 18 year old from the slums do what doctors, lawyers, professors and others fortunate enough to have had a higher education failed to do? When we meet Jamal Malik, a chai wallah (tea runner) at an Indian-based call center, he's in the hot seat on the game show Who Wants to be a Millionaire?. As his winnings pile up the show's host, Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor), seems quite incredulous over the fact this lowly teen is answering so many questions correctly. He's now just one question away from winning 20 million rupees and Kumar doesn't understand how this kid from the slums is pulling it off.

Dev Patel and Anil Kapoor in 'Slumdog Millionaire.'

© Fox Searchlight
Suspecting Jamal's a cheater, and with just one question remaining to be answered, Kumar has the police haul Jamal in for questioning. After not giving up any real information when he's tortured, the police inspector sits him down and goes one by one through the questions he's already answered. When asked how he became so knowledgeable on such a wide variety of subjects, Jamal reveals each question related to a particular memory from his past.

Through a series of flashbacks, we learn about Jamal's hard life in the slums with his older brother, how he lost his mother at a young age, and about the girl he's always believed he's meant to be with – the beautiful Latika. Because each question relates to a specific chapter in his past - from dealing with gangs to a run in with a ruthless gangster – Jamal's life experience prepared him to win on this game show. It's as if he's fated to be on Millionaire.

The Cast

Jamal's played by three young actors and I'll tell you what, each of them is just absolutely incredible. I'm not often a fan of child actors, but Ayush Mahesh Khedekar (youngest Jamal) and Tanay Chheda (middle Jamal) are mesmerizing to watch. The same goes for the newcomers who play Jamal's brother Salim and Latika as children. Dev Patel, a British actor who has Danny Boyle's daughter to thank for his part in Slumdog, is Jamal at 18, and this kid's something special. The gorgeous Freida Pinto (Latika at 18) delivers a touching, graceful performance and one that makes you understand why this boy would have remained in love with her his whole life.

The Bottom Line

From the cinematography to the editing to the score, Slumdog Millionaire is a first-rate production. It's also one of those little gems that wouldn't have drawn much attention at theaters had it not been for all the awards recognition it received. Slumdog Millionaire's really benefiting from the awards hype and moviegoers are, fortunately, getting turned onto this appealing, entertaining film.

Dev Patel and Freida Pinto in 'Slumdog Millionaire.'

© Fox Searchlight
Director Danny Boyle and screenwriter Simon Beaufoy weave an enchanting, fast-paced story. Take any one scene out of the film and you'd be doing this picture a great disservice. How often can you say that?

Slumdog Millionaire tempers brutality with great beauty and mixes poverty with a sense of hope. It's a little film with a big heart, and one that deserves any attention it gets.

P.S. Stay for the credits. There's a catchy number that's a musical celebration of life.

GRADE: A

Slumdog Millionaire was directed by Danny Boyle and is rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language. Theatrical Release Date: November 12, 2008

User Reviews

 5 out of 5
Slumdog Millionaire, Member willyt2

This movie focuses on Jamal Malik, an uneducated young boy living in the poor slums of India, who has nothing except for a brother and a friend. Years later, after many adventures, he ends up on a gameshow which happens to be the Indian version of ""Who Wants to be a Millionaire."" Things start to potentially turn around for Jamal as he makes it all the way up to the final question for 20 million rupies (1 million dollars in the U.S.). But is he cheating? No. Question by question, the film tells us how Jamal knows the answers through his life experiences. This film makes many great acomplishments. The movie has great cinematography as it shows different cultures of India, with the help of well done editing and breathtaking camera shots. But the most phenominal part of the movie is the ending. The film is filled with great dialouge and acting, but the last scenes of the film are especially tense, and they really got me inside of the story, and I think that is what any movie's ultimate goal should be. Just wait until Jamal phones a friend. Your eyes will be glued to the screen and you'll see what I mean. Suprisingly enough, this movie does have a couple faults here and there. For about 10-15 minutes, the film drags within the middle part. There was nothing really speacial or gripping during those couple of scenes because I felt that the movie was trying a little too hard to force the chemistry between the main charecters. Overall, Slumdog Millionaire is a very well made film that inspires you to belive in yourself no matter what position you are in. My prediction is that this will win the Best Picture Oscar. Does it deserve it in my opinion? No. I'd rather see ""The Dark Knight"" or ""The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"" win. But it is still an amazing movie and one of the best of the year.

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