Golden Globe winner "Slumdog Millionaire"
January 12, 2009 10:37 am drama, review, romance 
“Slumdog Millionaire” deserves its Golden Globe win
At a time when Hollywood is doling out its darkest, most depressing dramas, Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” is a refreshing ray of light.
Exhilarating, powerful and eye-popping, the film takes viewers on a tour of the conundrum that is modern India — from the slums and garbage heaps of Bombay to the towering office buildings and luxury mansions of a thriving new Mumbai.
It’s the story of two brothers, united by hardship and torn apart by violence. It’s the story of one man’s transformation from underpaid lackey to national folk hero. Most importantly, it’s a love story about the almost impossible romance between two children from the streets.
As the film opens, Jamal Malik (played as an adult by Dev Patel) is just one question away from winning 20 million Rupees on India’s most popular game show, “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?”
The feat would be impressive for anybody, but Jamal is a nobody — a second-tier assistant who serves tea at a cell phone call center. How did this lowly slumdog succeed where countless doctors, lawyers and businessmen have failed?
Did he cheat, as everyone — including the show’s smarmy host — suspects? Is he a genius? Or is it something else? Fate, say. Destiny.
As Jamal explains, every answer is tied to his amazing life.
One question reminds Jamal of a comical encounter with an Indian action star. Another stirs up memories of his mother’s death — and his first encounter with love interest Latika ( staggeringly beautiful newcomer Freida Pinto).
Yet another question recalls Jamal’s childhood journey from street beggar to train-hopping entrepreneur to faux tour guide at the Taj Mahal. Together, he and his brother Salim cheat, steal and struggle to survive — until a shocking murder turns the guileless kids, suddenly, into troubled adults. Salim pursues a life of well-paying crime, while Jamal soldiers on in law-abiding obscurity.
We ask. Jamal answers. And the tension builds.
Unlike Wes Anderson’s “Darjeeling Limited,” which offered an idyllic, picture-postcard view of India, “Slumdog Millionare” exists in the real world — portraying a massive, complex country in which poor and rich, haves and have-nots, live in stark contrast. The dichotomy is difficult to ignore as you watch barefoot children clamber over piles of garbage, families huddle around a single flickering TV screen or women wash clothes in a clearly polluted pond.
Cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle (”The Last King of Scotland”) manages to find color and beauty in even the most tragic of circumstances. He injects energy in every digital shot — pairing an urban obstacle course with narrow city streets, or making bustling construction sites and tarp-covered shacks seem as majestic as the Taj Mahal shrouded in morning mist. Quick cuts and countless flashbacks keep the story moving.
The soundtrack, which mixes Bollywood and hiphop with original music by A.R. Rahman, also keeps up the lively pace.
Some films mosey. Others amble. “Slumdog Millionaire” practically sprints from heart-pounding moment to heart-pounding moment, arriving at the most uplifting, yet natural, finale I’ve seen in years.
What more could you ask from the Golden Globes’ Best Drama?
Nick :
Date: January 12, 2009 @ 11:18 am
Sounds like a cool flick. I’d like to see it. Indian movies are a blast.
Bob Cuddy :
Date: January 12, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
Sounds like a pretty good flick. The three Oscar-type movies I’ve seen so far are “The Reader,” “Doubt,” and “Milk.” I would give the nod among those three to “The Reader.” I also saw “Frozen River,” which won’t get any awards but that in a just world would earn a best actress nod for the estimable Melissa Leo.
Nice to see Kate Winslet get some baubles finally.
Still wanna see Frost-Nixon. I’m a big Frank Langella fan. And I’m curious about Mickey Rourke in “The Wrestler.”
Rochelle Reed :
Date: January 12, 2009 @ 12:45 pm
I loved Slumdog, but I know three people who walked out, all put off by the violence. I squirmed in my seat but recalled Trainspotting and figured it would pass. Others weren’t so amused.
Daniel :
Date: January 13, 2009 @ 12:21 pm
Violence? It could hardly be more tame, and I don’t think it was gratuitous.
With only a couple of ‘08 movies left to see, this remains by far the best one I’ve seen all year!
bob cuddy :
Date: February 11, 2009 @ 6:19 pm
Now that I’ve seen this flick, I have to say first, that it was very good, and second, that Danny Boyle is a sly man.
He manages to package the horror of India’s poverty and child exploitation in a box that is tied with a feel good, boy gets girl ribbon.
It will the the images of poverty that remain, as they should. Nicely done.