Year: 2008
Director: Danny Boyle
Country: UK
Language: English
With Slumdog Millionaire Danny Boyle has managed to do something quite difficult; create a 21st Century fairy tale, in India of all places. The realistic settings and circumstances don't diminish the story-book quality of this improbable rags-to-riches story. Boyle owns the ugliness of a harsh existence in India, but also proves that miracles do happen. On a side note, did you know that this is the second Best Picture winner to feature a scene where a boy falls into an outhouse and is covered in poop?
In this film, a Mumbai teen reflects on his upbringing in the slums when he is accused of cheating on the Indian Version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?"
When I viewed this film in 2008 I wasn't very impressed and it would take 8 years for me to consider viewing it again. I think I was too cynical the first time, because upon a second viewing I found myself absolutely astonished. Slumdog Millionaire speaks universally to audiences by finding common ground between cultures, specifically viewers who are the majority of consumers in Hollywood (US) and Bollywood (India). Boyle succeeds in purging the story of specific cultural concerns, and makes the film about fundamental human feelings that carry across the world.
While Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? wasn't that relevant in 2008, it's merely used as a plot device to push the story along. This is no marketing scheme by Regis Philbin, but rather the show acts as a more profound examination of Jamal’s life, showing how his experiences allow him to know the answers. Ultimately the money is an after-thought, as Boyle is really intending to find the good nature of humanity despite lacing the film with scenes of suffering.
Slumdog Millionaire was pretty controversial in India upon release. The public claimed that it fueled stereotypes about poverty in India and that it was merely "poverty porn", Protesters torn down posters and ransacked local theatres. People in slums claim that they object to the film's title. Yes, Danny Boyle is certainly your enemy. Considering some of the child actors were still living in slums I suspect that Boyle hit a nerve and may have shown some truth about the state of that country.
Boyle's film has a pace, enthusiasm and energy that has rarely been matched in modern Cinema. It is a breathtaking experience that has a great score and is tremendously edited. Taking Trainspotting into account, I think Slumdog Millionaire is his best film.
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