Slumdog Millionaire

Review by Jason Gaston

 

The greatest thing that I can say about Slumdog Millionaire is that this film could have easily taken place on the streets of Detroit, or the ghettos in Shanghai, or the urbanized alleyways of Mexico City.  The characters in this movie could have been white, brown, black, or Klingon and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference.  Slumdog Millionaire is one of those rare movies that doesn't like staying confined to locales or ethnicities, it's a timeless tale of hope, ruin, squalor, love, and triumph accessible to anyone whether you're in a multi-million dollar Paris apartment, or a rickety hut in Chile.  Slumdog Millionaire is a story of humans first and India second and it's that humanity that makes it such an extraordinary picture.

Taking place in the crippling slums of Mubai, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) who goes on India's version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire and wins so much that the producers and police come to the conclusion that he must be cheating.  After all, given his station in life and where he comes from, he shouldn't be cultured or educated enough to know that much, shouldn't he?

As Jamal recounts events in his life that led him to know the questions that were presented to him, we're privy to the story of him, his brother, and a girl named Latika as they grow up in the slums and the hardships that life has given to them.

This movie is just beautiful.  Even when the audience is confronted with the most ugly and poverty-stricken environments, Director Danny Boyle manages to find beauty in color and lighting.

Slumdog Millionaire is a film that is so engrossing, so charming, and so life-affirming that it's impossible to resist.  From the time this movie begins to the final heart stopping and tense seconds, it's got its hooks into you and has you in its world and it's a place, although sad and ugly at times, you're only too happy to be a part of.

This could very well be Danny Boyle's best movie.