Slumdog Millionaire is this year’s, “little movie that could.” However after viewing this film, calling it a “little movie” would be the furthest thing from anyone’s mind. There’s nothing about Slumdog Millionaire that screams, “independent film.” The production quality is optimum. Actually that’s an understatement. This film is nothing short of a master’s course in imagery.
Slumdog Millionaire follows the life of Jamal Malik, (Dev Patel) a young boy growing up in the slums of Mumbai with only his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) to take care of him. In his constant search of his life-long love Latika (Freida Pinto), Jamal ends up on India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” where he makes it all the way to the final question due to the parallels between the game’s trivia and Jamal’s incredible life experiences. All the while, Salim battles his insatiable lust for money and power, which perpetually conflicts with his unshakable loyalty to his younger sibling.
Harsh and powerful is how this film starts. It gets right in your face and stays there for the entire first chapter. Jamal and Malik’s childhood is horrific and forces the brothers to mature very quickly which can be noted in the character’s dialogue. However, this film does not rest on the spoken word by any means. In fact, the character that you seem to hear the most is Prem Kumar, (Anil Kapoor) the bizarro Regis that hosts the game show. Instead, this film moves the audience with a blitz of strong images that makes the viewer feel like they’re flipping through an old-school “Life” magazine. Throw in a spot-on soundtrack, and you have one of the most visually stimulating films you’ll ever see.
Director Danny Boyle used a very dynamic, high-contrast documentary style, which truly captures the feel of the two brother’s traumatic childhood. He even borrows a little bit of his 28 Days Later techniques during “chase” scenes. Much use is made of extreme angles to convey the harsh reality the characters are forced to deal with. And to stir the pot the opposite direction, there seems to be a grain of a Forrest Gump like aura surrounding Jamal, especially when involving his love interest Latika.
Direction and cinematography are the fuel in Slumdog Millionaire’s engine, but it all rests on the chassis of a great story. Today’s audience is so jaded that it’s hard to impress them with story alone, but Slumdog Millionaire does just that. After reading the synopsis of this film not many people could truthfully say, “I’ve seen something like that before.” The film however does run the risk of being a little self-indulgent and gets carried away with symbolism near the end. But by that time the audience is so enchanted with the characters, story and visuals, it could get away with almost any excess fulfillment.
Story: 10
Acting: 8.0
Writing: 7.0
Captivation: 8.5
Replay Value: 7.0
Total = 8.1
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Slumdog Millionaire follows the life of Jamal Malik, (Dev Patel) a young boy growing up in the slums of Mumbai with only his Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) to take care of him. In his constant search of his life-long love Latika (Freida Pinto), Jamal ends up on India’s version of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire,” where he makes it all the way to the final question due to the parallels between the game’s trivia and Jamal’s incredible life experiences. All the while, Salim battles his insatiable lust for money and power, which perpetually conflicts with his unshakable loyalty to his younger sibling.
Harsh and powerful is how this film starts. It gets right in your face and stays there for the entire first chapter. Jamal and Malik’s childhood is horrific and forces the brothers to mature very quickly which can be noted in the character’s dialogue. However, this film does not rest on the spoken word by any means. In fact, the character that you seem to hear the most is Prem Kumar, (Anil Kapoor) the bizarro Regis that hosts the game show. Instead, this film moves the audience with a blitz of strong images that makes the viewer feel like they’re flipping through an old-school “Life” magazine. Throw in a spot-on soundtrack, and you have one of the most visually stimulating films you’ll ever see.
Director Danny Boyle used a very dynamic, high-contrast documentary style, which truly captures the feel of the two brother’s traumatic childhood. He even borrows a little bit of his 28 Days Later techniques during “chase” scenes. Much use is made of extreme angles to convey the harsh reality the characters are forced to deal with. And to stir the pot the opposite direction, there seems to be a grain of a Forrest Gump like aura surrounding Jamal, especially when involving his love interest Latika.
Direction and cinematography are the fuel in Slumdog Millionaire’s engine, but it all rests on the chassis of a great story. Today’s audience is so jaded that it’s hard to impress them with story alone, but Slumdog Millionaire does just that. After reading the synopsis of this film not many people could truthfully say, “I’ve seen something like that before.” The film however does run the risk of being a little self-indulgent and gets carried away with symbolism near the end. But by that time the audience is so enchanted with the characters, story and visuals, it could get away with almost any excess fulfillment.
Story: 10
Acting: 8.0
Writing: 7.0
Captivation: 8.5
Replay Value: 7.0
Total = 8.1
Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos
