Slumdog Millionaire (Spoiler Alert!)

Based on the critically acclaimed novel by Vikas Swarup, Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is a wonderful story about a young boy who struggles through life in the slums of Mumbai, India. Because of all the buzz surrounding Slumdog Millionaire I came into the film expecting a lot. I was not completely disappointed but there were a few things that rubbed me the wrong way.

Jamal Malik is a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire" and he is one question away from winning 20,000,000 rupees. When the show ends for the day right before the last question, the police take Jamal into custody for questioning because they are certain that this orphan, with no education, must have cheated in order to make it this far in the game. As he begins to tell his life story in flashbacks, he explains how he knew the answers to each question.

The story encircles Jamal and his brother Salim. Danny Boyle does a great job developing these characters from the very beginning. It was very interesting to see how these children made it through each day, as their mother was killed and they were forced to live on their own at a very young age.

These children became cons and thieves in order to survive each day. I'm sure everyone has either experienced or heard stories of so called "street rats" in third world countries. Well, I think this film gives people a different perspective on the situation. It shows you some horrible things that these children have to endure and really makes you feel sorry for them.

There were a couple of things in this film that I just didn't like. First of all there was a love story that I just couldn't buy into. Latika and Jamal first meet when Jamal sees her standing in the rain and, despite his brothers wishes, offers her some shelter. A short time later, when the children evade some evil men by hitching a ride on a train, Latika is left behind as Salim neglects to help her onto the train.

Throughout the rest of the film Jamal only sees Latika a few times and in small increments. At the end of the film Salim helps Latika escape the mob boss who basically owns her so that she can go to Jamal. I didn't think that this made any sense because Salim seemed to be an increasingly villainous character as the film progressed. This sudden change of heart just seemed out of character and a little cheesy.

After Jamal is believed to be telling the truth, he returns to the show. Risking the entire 10,000,000, he admittedly takes a wild guess on the final question and gets it right. After winning the 20,000,000 rupees, Jamal finds Latika and, as the film ends, proclaims it was destiny. I think it was all just a little far fetched and hard to buy into.

I was never bored and I really enjoyed myself during this movie. The aesthetics were memorizing. The directing & editing were very well done and it was a really interesting story. I really enjoyed the beginning of this film I just thought the ending was a little too "perfect". Therefore overall i would say Slumdog Millionaire is good but not great. So if it sounds like your choice of brew check it out.

Trailer
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1113194521/