Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this page
Updates:
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Director: Danny Boyle
Movie review
From Time Out London
Danny Boyle’s ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is a film so upbeat and colourful that, by the time you’re relaying its infectious air of optimism to friends, you could forget that it features orphans, slaughter, organised crime, poverty, enslavement and police brutality in its crowd-pleasing repertoire of suffering and renewal. Hell, it even ends with a get-up-and-dance Bollywood number on the platform of Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus.Shot entirely in India and largely on location, the fabric of the film is winningly realistic. But the story is pure fantasy inspired partly by co-producer Celador’s desire to enshrine its winning creation, the game show ‘Who Wants to be a Millionaire?’ in a movie.Still, Boyle succeeds in leaving these creepy beginnings behind to create a film that’s full of warmth and humanity and forever looks on the bright side of tragedy. The script is a simple conceit: writer Simon Beaufoy (‘The Full Monty’) has ripped up Vikas Swarup’s novel ‘Q&A’ and turned it into a rags-to-riches yarn about Jamal (Dev Patel), a young, slum-born adult in Mumbai who gives such a cracking performance on ‘…Millionaire’, that he’s only one question shy of the 20-million-rupee jackpot. Such unlikely success inspires envy on the part of the show’s creepy host (Anil Kapoor), who invites the police to arrest, question and torture him. This interrogation offers flashbacks of episodes in Jamal’s life that reveal the extraordinary sources of his knowledge and lend Boyle the handy framework of a child becoming an adult against all the odds in an India that’s changing by the hour but still dangerous for any kid on the loose.
Of all Boyle’s mixed work, from the promise of ‘Shallow Grave’ to the embarrassment of ‘Millions’ and the recent experiment of ‘Sunshine’, his new film probably best resembles ‘Trainspotting’: where in that film he found energy, humour and bonhomie in the stupor of heroin addiction, here he takes the impoverished life of a young Indian and spins it into an escapist fairytale steeped in the sights and sounds of the new India. By the time Jamal gets his girl – ultimately and simplistically it’s a romance – and everyone’s tapping their feet, you’ll have forgotten that one of his young friends was blinded and another sold into prostitution. You may also forgive some of the plot’s wilder turns and increasingly erratic jumps in time.
Boyle flirts with realism but never fully buys into it.
He’s too concerned with keeping the mood light and the pace furious. He’s a flashy filmmaker at times, but the real saving grace of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ is how Boyle and cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle go to extreme and pleasing lengths to soak up the colours, people and places of India. The film’s messages – that hard-earned street knowledge can be as valuable as traditional education and, while hardly original, that later success can overcome earlier hardship – are attractive if you’re willing to bite your tongue at the air of positivity. With so much good humour about you can even forgive the film’s bizarre slip from one language to another as young Indian actors give way to a warm, English-language performance from Britain’s Patel, who’s just one of a cast of actors who are as likeable and compelling as the film itself.
Author: Dave Calhoun
Time Out London Issue 2003, 8 - 14 Jan, 2009
User reviews of this film
-
- sejal said...
- Posted on Mar 08 2009 13:24 hey chappati king, were speaking the same lanuage, it true what you have said, and nothing can be done. But hey looking forward to slumdog 2, i didnt know you made movies,or are you taking the piss again. anway peace and love to you my friend.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- CHAPATI KING said...
-
Posted on Mar 08 2009 09:53
1,000 blessings your familiy, Angel.
I am now writing da sequel to SlumDog. It will be called SlumDog 2. I am not be telling you more, but keep viewing postings for more information. Blessing you and all Time Out Readers (including Russ - even tho he is godless). Peace. - Report as inappropriate
-
- CHAPATI KING said...
- Posted on Mar 08 2009 09:41 The vorld will keep on spinning, but Indian Government will rather see da cricket players earn millions rather than help my slum dwelling brothers. Shame on them.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- angel said...
- Posted on Mar 07 2009 22:07 chappti king you said it my friend, let their be peace.it not my fault i am a caring person, who want the good of the human race, and no suffering in the world.But i know in my heart that nothing is going to change in india, because the goverment their wont help it own people, it too corrupted. but hey hey wishful thinking.Thanks for the prayers anyway!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- CHAPATI KING said...
-
Posted on Mar 06 2009 20:58
Hello my little Angel delight. what is dis taking of da piss? I am seeking your vision on such matters. Indian Government slow to help poor people. NO? Danny Boyle is going to be the new Chapati King!
Maybe Indian Government will listen to you Angel. You are sounding most important to me. Most important. God be blessing you with one thousand prayers. Peace on your messages. - Report as inappropriate
-
- angel said...
- Posted on Mar 06 2009 12:28 hey chappati king, get a life and stop taking the piss,The only worth while thing about your comment is are the indian goverment going to help the people who live in the slums, because of the movie slumdog.well let hope so, it about time they faced the truth about their country and povety, and slumdog has got the ball rolling.But welldone to danny boyle for a a pieace of brillant realism.Let have some more!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Chapati King said...
- Posted on Mar 05 2009 16:00 Goodness Gracious Me .. dis flim is velly velly good. One tousan kisses to Danny's Boyle. He has named his Oscar, Niraj. Oh, how vonderful. Now our Inidan Government is going to help the poor people live da better life! Or do dey not give a Chipati?
- Report as inappropriate
-
- angel said...
- Posted on Mar 05 2009 15:44 excellent movie of the year, anyone says anything different doesnt know what there talking about, and are jealous of a movie made about india(get a life) it well made, based on a true story, a true comprison of india. and life in india. so one movie worth not missing!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- MD said...
- Posted on Mar 05 2009 08:51 Top Film!!! It was great!!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Cappybear said...
- Posted on Mar 05 2009 00:25 My wife and I enjoyed the film even more the second time around. A real feelgood movie, in spite of the squalor and violence; and strikingly photographed. If you don't go see it, it's your loss.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Dev Patel said...
- Posted on Mar 04 2009 22:29 Wow! Russ risen from the dead - and come back as Jesus!!!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- anju said...
- Posted on Mar 04 2009 10:54 i guess thismovie is dammn gud.....as far as i know abt it.. really wanna watch it.....x
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Bombay Duck said...
- Posted on Mar 01 2009 20:56 There's only one thing worse than a redneck racist and that's a really dumb redneck racist. If you get out your dictionary of racial abuse you'll find that the term "towelhead" is generally reserved for those from Arab nations who cover their heads with, sometimes, brightly coloured garments to protect from the sun. SD is set in a country called INDIA which is a lovely big country set somewhat to the east of the arabic nations. It is true that a number of people in India wear headgear which would probably lead to their immediate imprisonment and probable execution if our friend Russ had his way - but they aren't usually referred to as towelheads and mostly don't own any oil.
- Report as inappropriate
-
- Dan said...
- Posted on Mar 01 2009 20:51 Yep everyone is entiltled to their taste but i cant help winding this racist small minded biggot up, I thought they were stomped out in the eighties along with the rest of the dirty trailer trash. Im not even American but i feel like being crass and rude so..... Russ jog on man, you are a sad little boy who's voice will eventually fade out like the films you sadly endorse with youre pocket money! I dont think its worth 6 starts Dev (prob 5) but if it winds sadboi up then yey lol!!
- Report as inappropriate
-
- RUKSANA said...
-
Posted on Mar 01 2009 15:00
I LOVED THIS MOVIE IT IS SAD B4 I SAW IT I NEVER
KNOW IT WAS BASED ON A TRUE STORY!!!!!!!!!!!!! - Report as inappropriate
Cast & crew
Director: Danny Boyle
Cast: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kapoor, Irfan Khan, Madhur Mittal full cast
Rated: 15
Duration: 110 mins
UK Release: Jan 23 2009
US Release: Nov 13 2008
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Review: Penélope Cruz more raunchy than ever in 'Nine'
Dave Calhoun reports on Rob Marshall's Oscar-touted musical with Daniel Day-Lewis playing a troubled director
Time Out's 101 Films of the Decade
Ten years, thousands of movies and millions of dollars in international box office, and it all boils down to this
Jim Jarmusch on 'The Limits of Control'
Jim Jarmusch has followed ‘Broken Flowers’ with an esoteric crime mystery. Dave Calhoun speaks to him from his New York office
Richard Linklater on 'Me and Orson Welles'
Dave Calhoun meets the 49-year-old, Houston-born filmmaker Richard Linklater to discuss his new comedy
Our verdict on Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones
Peter Jackson ends a triumphant decade with a sentimental misfire with this lush Alice Sebold adaptation
On the set of Ken Loach's 'Route Irish'
Dave Calhoun meets Ken Loach on the set of his forthcoming Iraq war movie
Is 'Paranormal Activity' the new 'Blair Witch'?
How does a film go from DIY experiment to box-office smash? 'Paranormal Activity' director Oren Peli explains
A gateway to all things 'New Moon'
In anticipation of 'The Twilight Saga: New Moon', Time Out is offering the chance to pick up a limited edition pack with three exclusive magazines and a free poster.
The films that deserve a TV spin-off
With Roland Emmerich suggesting he'd like to make a '2012' TV spin-off, we propose some more movie-to-TV serialisations
Time Out's 50 greatest animated films with commentary by Terry Gilliam
In celebration of the release of Pixar's 'Up' and Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr Fox', read our rundown of fifty classic feature length animations
What do you think?
Post your review now