SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008)

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Positive Aspects of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008)

“Slumdog Millionaire” works on many levels, least of which being the theme of destiny. Juxtaposing a once in a lifetime opportunity for lead character Jamal (Dev Patel) to play the game show ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ with his tumultuous life story of where he grew up in the slums of Mumbai India is a rich and powerful tale of triumph over adversity.

Jamal only wants to be with his true love Latika (Freida Pinto). To find her, he manages to get himself on to the game show for the sole purpose that she will see him and contact him. As fate would have it, Jamal knows the answers to all the questions through the random events that have occurred to him. Jamal does not know who is on the one thousand rupee note but he does know who is on the US hundred dollar bill because a blind boy who was made blind in order to become a beggar tells Jamal who it is, a fate Jamal barely escaped himself.

Game show host Prem Kumar (Anil Kapoor) calls in the police on suspicions that Jamal is cheating (after all, how can a slumdog know anything). As the police question him, Jamal tells his life story and in so doing, gives detailed accounts of specific incidents which directly relate to how he knew the answer to each and every question he was asked on the show. This story is harrowing, particularly in the telling of Jamal’s life as a child. For example, he knows what the God Rama is holding in his hand because when anti-Muslim violence breaks out in his slum and his mother is violently killed, he sees a child dressed as Rama as he escapes.

Watching all these incidents unfold through dramatic flashbacks and cross cutting, we learn that Jamal’s destiny was to succeed in winning the game show, thereby allowing him to rise up out of the slums and live the dream of riches, with the entire country watching on in awe. The film is inspiring, sometimes brutal and ultimately moving without ever becoming corny or sentimental, even when Jamal realises his destiny and gets the girl.

Director Danny Boyle takes a classically archetypal storyline and transposes it in to a culture that is barely covered outside of stereotypes in Hollywood, crafting a brilliant piece of cinema that not only plays to the rags-to-riches story it tells but opens your eyes to another culture and world that many in Western nations may not necessarily have any understanding of. “Slumdog Millionaire” is perhaps deservedly the winner of the Best Picture Oscar, simply for working in metaphors, showing a different side of the world, and doing it on a very modest budget while delivering some powerful visuals and storytelling.

Drawbacks of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE (2008)

The world ‘slumdog’ is in the title for a reason if you do not have an affinity for watching films set in desolate and third world conditions then this film is definitely not for you. The only other issue with the film is that the musical soundtrack at times feels like its belting you over the head with an incessant heavy drum beat and heavy overtones that are inspired by Indian music. What we are watching is dramatic enough; to have that music blast its way through the experience is almost too much, particularly in the harsher scenes.

Final Verdict

This classic rags to riches tale accomplishes the feat of not only telling a great story of triumph over adversity but manages to open your eyes to a part of the world that is hardly ever covered in a Hollywood film besides clichés; no wonder the Academy gave it the Best Picture Oscar.

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