FILM CHALLENGE: 156) Slumdog Millionaire

156) Slumdog Millionaire

Director: Danny Boyle

Year: 2008

Plot Summary: The story of Jamal Malik, an 18 year-old orphan from the slums of Mumbai, who is about to experience the biggest day of his life. With the whole nation watching, he is just one question away from winning a staggering 20 million rupees on India's Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? But when the show breaks for the night, police arrest him on suspicion of cheating; how could a street kid know so much? Desperate to prove his innocence, Jamal tells the story of his life in the slum where he and his brother grew up, of their adventures together on the road, of vicious encounters with local gangs, and of Latika, the girl he loved and lost. Each chapter of his story reveals the key to the answer to one of the game show's questions.

"Maybe it's written," says Anil Kapoor's character in the Oscar winning Slumdog Millionaire.

The themes of destiny and fate are ones usually saved for fairytales in Hollywood cinema, being explored in such works as Cinderella or Stardust. It's not the kind of topic, therefore, that a man like Danny Boyle, director of 28 Days Later and Trainspotting, would usually tackle. However, in many ways, Slumdog Millionaire isn't that different from the aforementioned movies; it's a contemporary and darker take on the classic fairytale stories.

Like Cinderella who, in the original version of the story from 1697, was forced into manual labour by her father and his step-mother and was bullied by her step-sisters, Jamal Malik's life is one of hardship, pain and anguish. Early on we witness the murder of his mother and see him and his brother taken in by a local gangster. He longs for an escape from this world but is trapped there being just a "slumdog."

As we witness his childhood and teenage, we cut back and forth between the set of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire as Jamal sits in the hot seat. Though uneducated, the questions he is asked are ones that he knows the answers to from his experiences in life. When he is asked who is on the American $100 bill, for example, we flash black to a time when he makes money showing American tourists around Mumbai and is given $100 after being beaten by a police officer.

Aside from being an interesting structure for a narrative, this helps to perfectly capture of fairytale like aspects of Boyle's movie. Like the glass slipper that allows the Prince to sweep away Cinderella, the game show allows us to see that Malik, through the suffering he's had in life, is now being offered a chance to fulfil his dream of escaping it. Moreover, this also makes Slumdog Millionaire is a very moving, powerful and uplifting little drama as we watch Jamal triumph over the hardships and the stereotypes as he progresses further and further into the show. It's cinematic ride that is easy to be swept along with.

Boyle's direction is absolutely fantastic here putting a lot of emphasis on the 'modern' in the phrase 'modern fairytale'. He makes it a very visceral experience with some awesome camerawork throughout and a rapid, kinetic feel that only Boyle can capture. He, furthermore, shows a fascination with Mumbai and its entire culture without ever feeling like a tourists view of the place. Also worthy of praise is Simon Beaufoy who somehow manages to make this bizarre little concept into an emotional roller-coaster of a movie. His rhythm and pacing in the script is pretty much impossible to fault and his dialogue is non-flashy and doesn't feel the need to over-explain everything. Oh, and let's not forget one of the best soundtracks of the decade courtesy of A.R. Rahman who brings Mumbai's diversity of music to the cinema screen here.

A wonderful cinematic experience that, while it does have its flaws, is firstly a heartwarming tale of overcoming the stereotypes and the suffering that you've been dealt and escaping. Secondly, a fascinating exploration of what ultimately means the most in life; love or money, as the two brothers, Jamal and Salim, strive for different things as a means of escape. And lastly, it's all anchored by a touching, decades long love story between our hero and Latika, a girl who was taken away from him at an early age and who he since has longed to be with.

4/5

By Daniel Sarath with 4 comments