MOVIE REVIEW: Slumdog Millionaire

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is the critic's darling of 2008. MadProfessah has been a big fan of Boyle's previous films, especially 28 Days Later... and Sunshine (see my review) although the director is probably best known for Trainspotting.

Boyle's lastest film is a heart-racing look at India from the viewpoint of two children who are forced to survive on their own from a very young age. It depicts heart-breaking poverty and a stunning disregard for human life in a country with a population well over one billion. The plot device used is of a chai walla (a guy who serves chai tea to telephone help desk operators) going on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" not to win the money, but to "win" the girl.

The amazing life story of the guy (played by a winningly handsome 18-year-old Dev Patel) is told in flashback starting from about the age of 8 or so to about the moment in time in which the film begins.

Having been to Indian within the last two years, including visits to Mumbai and Agra the two main cities depicted in the film, gave the film an extra emotional impact for me. The beauty of the Taj Mahal can simply never be over-estimated, although what gives the film it's real wallop is its incredible pacing. It literally starts with a bang and never stops. Although it's told in flahback, we're really never quite sure how (or if) our young protagonists are going to escape the predicaments they are placed in.

But at the heart of Slumdog Millionaire is two love stories: one between Jamaal and Latika, as well as between brothers, Jamaal and Salim. How these stories get resolved in Simon Beaufoy's screenplay adaptation of Vikas Swarup's novel cobined with the technical expertise of Boyle's direction along with the absolutely incredible score featuring the music of M.I.A. among others catapults the film to the very top of all cinematic releases in 2008.

Running Time: 2 hours, 1 minute. MPAA Rating: Rated R for some violence, disturbing images and language. In English and Hindi (English subtitles).

OVERALL GRADE: A.

ACTING: A-.
IMAGERY: A+.
PLOT: A.
IMPACT: A.