Danny Boyle has proven to be a wildly diverse director after dipping into the underbelly of Edinburgh in 1996, a zombie style virus in 2003, childhood fantasies in 2005 and an unfortunately overlooked sci-fi flick in 2007. After all that he has managed to do it once again. Slumdog Millionaire is a coming-of-age story that manages to find originality through its main character, Jamal Malik, a boy we first meet at the age of 18, but soon get to know him through a variety of circumstances in his life that now has him on the verge of winning 20 million rupees on India’s “Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”
The film begins as we first meet Jamal as he is being tortured by the police. They are asking how he could have possibly known the answers to the questions on the show as they had to break the night before just as he was about to be asked the 20 million rupee question. “How could a slumdog know so much?” asks the police inspector played by Irfan Khan.
From that point on we watch the previous night’s show mixed with flashbacks as Jamal explains how he knew each answer. It’s a film that tells of the lessons and information we learn as we go through life and Jamal’s perspective can only be described as unique. His stories range from diving into an outhouse toilet hole so he can rush to get an autograph from a famous movie star, watching his mother die and the reason he ever even tried to get on “Millionaire” in the first place – love – and it is the guiding force behind this entire film.
Jamal is played by Dev Patel, who before this had only been seen on the UK TV show “Skins”. Patel is already earning supporting Oscar buzz for his performance and it is certainly deserved. Patel bounces from emotion to emotion. He is often seen closed off, shy and unassuming, but as the stories he tells gain in intensity a fire begins to well up inside of him. However, Patel is not the only acting strong suit here. Playing Jamal at his youngest is Ayush Mahesh Khedekar and it was his performance that really sells the first half or so of this film. Jamal aged 18 is still quiet and a bit reserved, but in the flashbacks we see him bouncing around as a young boy with a heart of gold and it keeps the audience engaged in a story that really could have easily been deemed passé and forgotten at that point.
Slumdogis actually not all roses. Like a similar “little film that could” this year, The Visitor, this is not any kind of new storytelling. This is still just another coming-of-age story using love as a device to connect with audiences emotionally. However, like The Visitor, this film has a unique perspective that makes it something much more than cliché. It focuses on what it means to grow up in the slums of Mumbai and gives you a nasty peek at the people lurking in the dark, and things hardly change for Jamal as he is growing up. Sure, they may have gotten slightly better, but considering the film begins with him being tortured for suspicion of cheating on a game show of all things, I wouldn’t say the area he lives in hasn’t changed all that much.
The genius of this film is Danny Boyle’s ability to bring attention to an area of the world many never see, all while telling a story of a young boy that grew up and ultimately managed to escape it and find love along the way. Without that unique little thread this film would have been long forgotten, but as it turns out that’s all it needed. While the running time is a little long, you won’t care a lick as the final moments of this film are its very best, making the wait to get there all the more worthwhile.
Slumdog Millionaire has the feeling of “that little film that could.” Who would have ever thought a film with such a wild premise could catch the attention of so many audiences? It stormed the festival circuit and now comes to theaters with very high aspirations as talk of Oscar Best Picture surround it.
