Directed by: Danny Boyle
Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal
Plot: A Mumbai teen who grew up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" He is arrested under suspicion of cheating, and while being interrogated, events from his life history are shown which explain why he knows the answers. Taken from www.imdb.com.
As an American what do I know about India? I know that they're poor, they apparently worship cows or something there, ride magic carpets, and it doesn't matter if you're skinny or fat you can dress up like a sultan in your onion head hat.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that my truly vast knowledge of India wasn't really vast or knowledge but a string of vague hints given to me by pop culture and a line from a "Cake" song. Why I almost stopped to ponder my squandered life but I was too busy galavanting in the streets in my American flag pants (with bald eagle cock pouch) screaming "AMERICA! FUCK YEAH!" to care.
Okay, so "Slumdog Millionaire" is a movie directed by Danny Boyle ("28 Days Later", "The Beach", "Trainspotting") based on the novel "Q&A" which is an extrememly boring title and no wonder I've never read it.
So it is the story of Jamal, a young Mumbai man who has a "Dewey Cox has to think about his entire life before he sings" moment and reflects on his entire childhood up to the point he got accused of cheating on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire."
It turns out that all the questions end up somehow relating to a parallel event in his life that was so traumatic that he knew the answer. I would like to see this in real life.
"So how did you know the lyrics to 'Me and Bobby McGee?'" Asks Regis Philbin
"My mother used to sing it to me whilst grinding lemon rinds into my eyes and beating me with a garden hose filled with bees." replies the lucky contestent.
So it all ties into a love story about halfway through that just kinda pops up out of nowhere and there's this thing about destiny that's referred to here and there and really doesn't have a whole lot of mention in the film but is apparently the point.
Then we're treated to a music video-like ending sequence involving the main characters dancing like stereotypical Indian music video dancers. This is why I always copy paste plot details from iMDB because sometimes I have no fucking clue what to say and compensate for my lack of knowledge with anecdotes.
Okay so acting is hard to break down seeing as there's 3 actors for each main character so I'll try and break this down as best I can.
The main character is Jamal as we've said played in sequence by: Ayush Mahesh Kedekar, Tanay Cheda, and Dev Patel.
Kedekar is the first Jamal we become truly close to whilst watching him jump into a pit of liquid shit so that he can get an autograph from a famous Indian movie star which is then sold by his douche water sodden brother Salim. We spend almost as much time with Kedekar as we do with Patel and he's the one we become most sympathetic with as he is a fucking adorable child and you watch all the horrible shit he goes through.
Of all the Salim's, Azharrudin Mohammed Ismail (youngest Salim) is the most interesting and most dickish of the 3. (Though Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala comes in close second.) He's a rather conflicting character as he's alternatively pure evil and unendingly loyal to his brother (often at the same time.) This duality, and the way it is played, is what makes "youngest Salim" the most interesting portrayal of the 3.
The youngest Latika is little more than a placeholder but I'll at least namedrop Rubiana Ali and sat that she does a competent job for such a
young actress.
young actress.
I will suffice to say that I was unimpressed with middle Jamal, Salim, and Latika and have chosen not to comment on Tanay Cheda, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar other than to say that they didn't do much for me but advance the story.
Dev Patel's performance is quite good. He plays his part as silent, withdrawn, and shy: the polar opposite of what Kedekar's performance was. Patel doesn't hold the story as well as his younger counterpart but he comes very close.
Unfortunately the same cannot be said for Freida Pinto and Maddhur Mittal give good performances but Mittal doesn't live up to his younger counterpart and Pinto keeps the same blah performance that the previous two generations of actors had built up.
One of the more menacing and well-done performances is Ankur Vikal's false savior Maman. A gangster who uses poor orphans to beg to increase his money. He has the gentle kind menacing nature of a child molester and every scene with him from his first appearance to his exit just leaves you with a permanant cold feeling running up and down your spine.
"Slumdog Millionaire" is a love story, but you know what else it is? Fucking traumtic, that's what. This movie will fuck you up in ways that "Christian Children's Fund" commercials never will.
Between going forehead deep in human shit, the brutal beating of women and children with sticks, the blinding of children with boiling oil, and a myriad of other fucked up shit you will be appalled and guilty by the time you walk out.
Of course it's not all tradgedy and sap, many moments are filled with genuine comedy, especially in the earlier portions of the film where Jamal and Salim run a myriad of scams for money like pretending to be guides at Taj Mahal and giving tons of bogus information that even ignorant Americans like myself can see are complete bullshit.
Another fine element of this movie is the visual appeal. This film makes even the most dirty and drab environments look absolutely gorgeous. Even the subtitles are colorized and vivid and I firmly vote that subtitles should be done this way from this point on, it makes them seem much less tedious.
However, of all the finer points of this film the music was what stood out for me. I'm not sure if the music picked is popular Indian music, or period music, or if it's even Indian. What it is, is hauntingly beautiful and every scene that features it is a treat all in itself. A scene of the young Salim and Jamal on a train is particularly wonderful.
I will admit that I don't echo the sheer amazement with this film that everyone else does. Truly this is a film of a higher calibur, but what starts as something above the cut starts drifting into the land of generic film plots. It doesn't take away from the film's overall effect but it does make me feel less sure of all the Oscars the film was nominated for/won.
While it's somewhat less spectacular than I had hoped it is still a solid and highly enjoyable film experience that impressed even my georgraphically and culturally retarded mind.
I give "Slumdog Millionaire" a 5 out of 5.
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