Review: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

One of our faithful readers Stephen Vasquez sent us an email about how great this movie was, so I put him to the test and asked him to write a review for it… and he did, a damn good review! Check it out below and leave him some comment love, maybe he will start writing more reviews for us?

Stephen:

Boyle is back, and in top form. His trademark shots are all there, his excellent transitions, masterful score, and compelling character’s that connect to the very end. I’m a fan of Darjeeling Limited and the India aesthetic in general, but this film is relentless in its depiction of the gritty slums that surround it. The unknown cast only adds to the realism, no parallels can be drawn to previous works.

I’m not of a fan of spoiling anything in reviews, it peeves me when more often than not I read a review and nearly most of the film is compressed into three paragraphs. I’m not going to do that. I will say that the film is promising and should court some Oscar buzz this year. However, not in the common “little Indie that could” fashion (pun definitely intended), this film goes beyond that. In keeping it basic, I’ll give you all the basic premise and synopsis.   The film opens with the leading man being goaded by torture methods into confessing how he was able to win 12 million rupees on the Hindi version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. The ill fated journey that he and his brother embark on is seamlessly told through textbook usage of flashbacks, deriving from each question that is being asked in the game show.   Confused, much? Let me clarify, as the questions are being asked in real time, a flashback sequence reveals how the protagonist came to know the answer. Seems like a simple device, no? It’s actually the glue holding the narrative together, a tact that worked well with The Usual Suspects, never comes off formulaic in this film.   In some film-related circles, this could be considered a mystery even. Our hero’s humble incentive for being on the show is to live out his riches with the love of his life, Latika.   The orphan girl he and his brother befriend since childhood.   That never say never attitude leads our hero into a string of entertaining adventures, filled with marvelous backdrops and comedic scenarios. What should come off as clichà © love story, doesn’t.   The romance works seemingly well with the soft nature of the film, Boyle deserves full credit for this.

The film never compromises aesthetic beauty and yet it is never fully saturated with   scenery shots either, Boyle gives us enough to understand the poignancy of the different locations.   The gritty underbelly of the Mumbai slums really breathes its own air, becoming, what I thought, and the antagonist force that glues the story together. It’s one of those films that doesn’t really designate one said villain.

In going against the grain, the filmmakers decided to tell a heart-warming tale without fluffing the content, thus prompting the inconsistent MPAA to give the film an R rating. Why? Because the MPAA is almost as useless as the Electoral College, but I digress. Aside from one scene in the film (which isn’t even that bad), the film could have easily gotten slipped some PG-13 love. Its charming depiction (especially in the 1st half) of child poverty in India never teeters on the depressing, instead gives you enough to stay engaged.

The film could not have been released at a better time.   The story of a humble underdog who has to rise to the occasion is exactly what American’s are currently the mood for, especially after our election results. Even still, Slumdog Millionaire has so many things going against it here in the States, the usage of South Asian characters, and†¦well I’ll stop there. If the Academy can look past their ignorance, this coming of age tale will surely captivate, enrage, and most importantly, entertain. If American’s can look past the obvious determinants, that is.

Overall: 4 out 5 stars