Who Wants to be a Slumdog Millionaire?
In 2008 director Danny Boyle brought viewers the Oscar Award winning story of a young boy who meets the love of his life and shows that he is willing to do anything for her as they progress from children to adults.
The story begins with an older Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) as he sits in the hot seat of India’s version of the most popular game show at the time ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ He is accused of cheating on the show and forced to reflect on his difficult childhood as he made his way from the slums of Mumbai to having a shot at twenty million rupees (equivalent to one million US dollars) and how he knew the answers to the question’s he was asked up to his arrest. Along the way, he searches for the girl he loves (Freida Pinto) as this is his one and only true goal in the film.
Dev Patel and Freida Pinto make their big screen debuts as they play the older versions of the children we meet early on in the movie. And each of their performances are done well as you really believe they are the adults the kid you meet them as turn out to be. The movie as a whole has a very fast pace with slow moments where they are necessary for story development. But the roller coaster ride it takes you on keeps you on board as you want to see where things go next and how the next series of events ends up.
It also gives viewers a great look at the horrors, tribulations, and overall situation that is being felt by so many people who live within the real life slums of India. This is done best by the casting of tactual kids from the slums to play the kid versions of the three main characters. Aside from this, anyone who feels they are in a bad spot within their own world and they think things can’t get any worse should watch this film as it will give them an idea of just how bad things could really be.
The movie tells a great love story with a wonderful adventure wrapped around it to keep you following it all. The camera shots and techniques that are used are all very unique and far different than most movies that are even made today. There’s not much to criticize here so I won’t be doing so.
Throwback Lesson: If you see a group of people coming at you with sticks and other weapons, don’t just stand there. RUN.
Roasted Ripper Score – Q & A+