Slumdog Millionaire
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, Rubiana AliDirector: Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan (co-director: India)
Year of Release: 2008
This film was directed by Danny Boyle who has had an already excellent run of films including Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, and Shallow Grave. Slumdog Millionaire is a bit of a departure for Boyle in that it is entirely based in India with an all Indian cast, while his other films have largely been centered around the UK. It is an interesting change of pace that does in fact pay off brilliantly. This is a cleverly done film with a solid story and believable characters.
The story is centered around an Indian man named Jamal who is accused of cheating on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, since he is a poor “slumdog” who should never have known so many of the correct answers given his class. Through the course of his interrogation, his history unfolds to reveal the hard road he’s had to get to this point, along with his conflicted older brother and Lathika, the girl from his childhood he feels eternally connected to. It is revealed how every step has left an unforgettable memory that fate has somehow chosen to use in the show to get him closer toward his ultimate goal of being reunited with Lathika.
Dev Patel as the lead character of Jamal delivers a perfect performance as the both sympathetic underdog and confident hero. And the structured storytelling that reveals just the right flashbacks at just the right time weaves a captivating story that never feels over-complicated or forced. Though there are scenes of extreme poverty and cruelty, the film never loses it’s heart or it’s hope. It’s uplifting even in the face of utter hopelessness. And the end left me very satisfied with a perfect coda.
One of the best films of 2008, definitely see this one.
