Slumdog Millionaire
Jay Dyer
Danny Boyle, producer of the well-known zombie flick, 28 Days Later, stepped out of the paranormal to co-direct with Indian filmmaker Loveleen Tandan what is, in my estimation, one of the best films I've seen in a long while—last year's Slumdog Millionaire (2008). Many readers have likely seen it, but for those that haven't, you're in for a treat with this rags-to-riches fairytale.
The storyline is based on the novel Q & A by Vikas Swarup and chronicles the life of a Mumbai teen named Jamal (Dev Patel), who grew up in the slums and becomes a contestant on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? After being arrested under charges of cheating, the authorities assume it is impossible that a child of his condition could know all the answers. Jamal is desperate for vindication and retells his life story—from extreme poverty to the death of his mother to numerous other seemingly chaotic events which, in a twist of providential synchronicity, end up being the means by which he knows the answers and attains his fortune. Each chapter of his life is multi-layered, building on the previous, all of which culminate in a symphonic and triumphant harmonia mundi.
Jamal is also still in love with his childhood sweetheart (played by Freida Pinto), so the romantic element is worked in quite well without any campiness. Slumdog is a film about hope in the face of overwhelmingly negative circumstances. It's also about the seamless yarn of providence in that tragedy and trauma turn out for the good, in the long run. Combining the shocking reality of abject poverty with heartwarming humor and the mystery of life, Slumdog Millionaire is definitlely not a film you want to pass by on Netflix® or in the rental store.
Slumdog Millionaire is rated R, and distributed by Fox Searchlight Pictures |