‘Slumdog’ deserved its Oscar (4/5)

Slumdog Millionaire 

 

Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal.
Directed by: Danny Boyle.
Rating: R for some violence, disturbing images and language.
Running time: 2 hours.

Obviously, “Slumdog Millionaire” has a lot of hype to live up to.

But director Danny Boyle gave the audience (and, apparently, the academy) plenty of reasons to love this movie.

Jamal Malik, a young Indian man, is a contestant on the Indian version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” But his goal isn’t to win the top prize of 20,000,000 rupees; rather, it is an attempt to reconnect with Latika, a girl whom he has encountered at various points throughout his life. But Jamal is an uneducated “slumdog” from Bombay, and his unexpected knowledge surprises not only the show’s creators, but also the entirety of India.

One of the most engaging aspects of “Millionaire” is how the plot unfolds. As Jamal answers each question, a flashback to his troubled childhood shows the background to his seemingly extraneous and surprising knowledge. The flashbacks not only show the audience the hardships of Jamal’s upbringing, but also attempt to illustrate the seclusion and forced independence that comes from living in such severe poverty.

The opening sequence introduces Jamal and his older brother, Salim, and acquaints the audience to the day-in, day-out existence of Bombay’s slum residents in a cinematographically beautiful but tragic fashion.

The turbulent relationship between Jamal and Salim is one of the primary driving points of the film. Boyle shows through their differences that where a person is raised does not necessarily determine who that person will be. But that is not to say that Jamal is purely ethical while Salim is amoral. They both must struggle to exist in their unbridled world, at times stealing or leaving others behind.

But one Jamal cannot seem to leave behind is Latika. Orphaned together, Jamal, Salim and Latika end up at the same crooked orphanage. When Jamal and Salim escape, they leave Latika behind, and though Salim insists that she will be OK and that Jamal must forget about her, he finds himself tracking her down not once but several times throughout his life.

At one of these meetings, Latika is watching “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” and mentions how it is an escape for her life. Jamal later takes these words to heart and attempts to escape his own life by becoming a contestant, hoping that Latika will be watching.

The film follows Jamal’s story through three major ages of his life, and as such, three different actors were used for the characters of Jamal, Salim and Latika. I am always impressed with young actors who truly seem to become their character, and the young actors of “Millionaire” are no different. In fact, I like them more than I like the older versions of the characters.

“Millionaire” is a heart-wrenching, gutsy, beautiful film with a unique plot and nice twist on the traditional boy-loses-girl story. Plus, mainstream stories of India are few and far between, so not only was the film very refreshing but also highly intriguing. The academy didn’t get this one wrong.

4 of 5 stars