Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Wins at film festivals have been common for this widely acclaimed film. All the action here centres on Jamal Malik, a young worker from a high tech company who somehow becomes a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Most contestants who appear on this or any other television game show know what pressure is all about. Here, however, the pressure reaches the outer limits as this fish out of water player has an unbelievable story to tell.

Director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting) teams up with director Luveleen Tandan with support from Warner Brothers films to mount a truly impressive undertaking with masterful storytelling finesse. Danger surrounds the Indian version of the show with some coming to question just how a lowly Indian menial labourer could possibly know all the right answers on route to an unbelievably large jackpot, in the millions of rupees no less.

While the squeeze is put on Jamal we are inundated with flashbacks to his childhood to see how he came to his current predicament. As a child Jamal grew up with his brother Salim and mother in the slums of India and the boys underwent harsh treatment largely sometimes because of his faith. Unspeakable horrors confront both boys and those images and pent-up fears/hostilities have a clear impact on their teen years and adult lives. Love, romance and lust also enter into the equation as a young orphan named Latika seems to leave an indelible impression on the lads, and older grown ups as she ages.

Full of violence and tense moments Slumdog Millionaire comes up a winner, turning out to be one of the best movies of the year. Gorgeous cinematography of the Indian continent engulfs viewers.