Genre: Romance, Drama
Director: Danny Boyle
Starring: Dev Patel, Frieda Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan, Madhur Mittal
Running Time: 120 minutes
British director Danny Boyle’s career took off in 1996 with ‘Trainspotting’, a critically acclaimed film that gave audiences an unflinching view into modern drug culture, and launched the career of Ewan McGregor. The film, often criticised for what some consider a positive depiction of heroin use, has since become a cult classic, and is also a personal favourite of yours truly. Most readers will be most familiar with his 2002 film ‘28 Days Later’, generally considered to be one of the few good modern zombie movies (not counting Shaun of the Dead, of course.) His next film however was as far away from the frenetic gore of 28 Days Later as possible. ‘Millions’ tells the story of two imaginative boys who find a bag of money in a field, and is one of the sweetest and most enjoyable children’s films in a long time. Following that, he directed the highly underrated sci-fi film Sunshine, proving one again that there is no genre that he cannot handle. His filmography is as impressive as it is varied, and I am yet to see a film of his I haven’t liked. So to say that ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is his best film yet should give you an idea of just how amazing the movie is.
Dev Patel, known for his role on the British drama ‘Skins’ (cue screaming fans) plays Jamal Malik, a boy who grew up on the streets of Mumbai, who not only finds himself on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, but finds himself doing incredibly well. So well, that the police suspect that he is cheating, and haul him in for questioning. In a series of flashbacks, Jamal tells the police the story of his incredible life that has given him the answers to all the right questions. This film has everything; violence, crime, comedy, tragedy, all of which is handled expertly by Boyle. At its heart though, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a romance, as Jamal tries desperately to find his childhood love Latika. The depiction of the Indian slums is at some points too horrifying for words, reminiscent of Fernando Meirelle’s ‘City of God’ (a masterpiece of cinema), and yet the movie manages to be incredibly uplifting, and I guarantee that you will not leave without a smile on your face. Boyle’s direction is amazing as he uses every trick in the book including fast and slow motion, rapid cuts, quick zooms and a million different camera angles to keep the film energetic and entertaining. The choice to shoot entirely in India was a good one, and the editing and location shots make you feel the enormous energy of millions of people. All this, plus a great soundtrack and wonderful acting make Slumdog Millionaire one of the best movies of the year. I’ve seen it twice (for free both times…awesome); truly a feel good picture.
Oh, and don’t worry. Despite an all Indian cast, most of the movie is in English.
Rating: 9/10
