Purebred 'Slumdog'

What Genre Can't Danny Boyle Do?

Danny Boyle has a hat.  This hat is filled with film genres ranging from "romantic comedy" to "animated film with celebrity voice over."  Boyle blindfolds himself, tosses the hat around for good measure and then reaches in and draws out a slip of paper.  This time that slip said "Bollywood."  Boyle smiled to himself and said, "Easy peasy."  Of course it doesn't hurt that when he drew out "Helio-theist Space Sci Fi" or "Zombie Movie" or "Drug Addiction Scottish Teen Angst Film" that he happened hit homeruns.  Slumdog Millionare, an almost fairy tale-esque story of an Indian slumdog who ends up one question away from rupee riches on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionare (apparently pronounced Mill-ON-air), not only knocks it out of the park, but this cinematic cricket ball has some firebreathing, nitro-laced, curry-infused mustard on it.  Too bad he didn't pull "Indiana Jones sequel" out of that hat...

Ok, since I know you are now scanning the interwebs to figure out what those movies were, it's "Sunshine," "28 Days Later...," and "Trainspotting."  Honestly folks, watch some movies.  If you do, you will realize not only are they all wonderful films, but each film feels completely unique in both production and story.  It's like Danny Boyle is the antimatter version of Michael Bay, in that each of his movies are different, and they all are amazing pieces of cinema.  And another great thing about Danny Boyle is...oh...ok...I'll review the movie.

I'm usually not a big fan of flash back movies, as they usually come across disjointed and episodic, but Slumdog manages to weave the story together so seamlessly that you won't mind the fact that you are constantly breaking the temporal and narrative barrier.  The movie starts out in an Indian police station as the young protagantist Jamal, played brilliantly by Dev Patel, is presumed to have cheated inorder to be one question away from the 20 million rupee prize.  As he recounts his tale to the police chief, we learn that each question corresponds to a particular moment in his life which provided his answers.  We also learn that life as slumdog in India sucks...A LOT. 

The story of Jamal and his older brother Salim growing up as orphaned children is gritty, bleak and often horrifying, and if you have any problem seeing bad things happen to young children (which, hopefully you do), you will definitely be squirming a good bit.  But the raw nature of what it is live as a street urchin is off set by the endearing, if not always harmonious relationship between the brothers.  A budding romance is also introduced to the rag tag Indian duo in the character of Latika, a young Indian girl who joins the brothers after losing her parents to a gang of Hindu thugs on rampage against her Muslim village.  The trio appear at three different ages throughout the film and each trio is a shining example of how amazing child actors can be when done right.  For an example of how to do it wrong, one simply needs to watch The Day the Earth Stood Still...

I've never seen a Bollywood film, but if they are even half as good as this film was, we've all been missing out.  That's not to say the movie wasn't without its flaws.  For as exciting and engaging as the build up to the final question is, the ending of the movie seems to fall a bit flat, perhaps sagging a bit under the weight of its story book nature, despite being equal part win and equal part loss for Jamal (I'm not telling you how, so don't worry).  However, its underdog spirit and ultimately uplifting conclusion will not only brighten up your day, but have you walking out of the theatre speaking in an Indian accent.  Just be sure to get it out of your system before you go to work the next day.

...the accent that is...there's no way you are going to shed the glow of Slumdog Millionare any time soon.

And that's my final answer...

[Update] Props to Boyle and Slumdog for their 4 GG's (that's Golden Globes not Good Games...sheesh...nerds)

Comments

[SC Peters]

I haven't seen Slumdog, but I have seen Bollywood films, and I can almost guarantee it is nothing like. BTW, your podcast is over an hour PER half? I'm not sure I can handle that...