Review: Slumdog Millionaire

All the talk of the film's 'poverty porn' and obsession with garbage and faeces is just that- crap. Not nearly a masterpiece, Boyle's film is uplifting, buoyant and celebrates life and Bollywood

Originally published on NOWRUNNING.COM

Is there anything really left to say about Slumdog Millionaire? It's been described in every way possible, from extraordinary to exploitative, from masterful to mundane. Slumdog Millionaire, to me hardly remains as much a film as it is a phenomenon, and admittedly it does feel silly adding my two insignificant cents to the million.

Well, if you ask me, here's my humble take. Did I like it? Yes, very much so. But I would be lying if I said it blew me away, and even more so if I didn't admit that I was a tad underwhelmed- but you could blame it on my great expectations from this Dickensian tale of adversity, adventure and unswerving love.

Danny Boyle brilliantly crafts this rags-to-riches tale treating the subject with humility, respect and dignity, immersing him in the milieu and yet maintaining his uniquely kinetic style without forcibly imposing a 'foreign' style on the film, and this is no ordinary achievement. Boyle's enthusiasm and spirit is difficult to resist, and even harder not to admire.

This is undeniably a pure masala plot that feeds of the most classic of Bollywood themes, and I can't help but wonder if the ingredients that make up this film would have been better handled in the hands of say, a Bhardwaj instead of a Boyle, of what a masterful Indian filmmaker could have made of this material... but well, I guess I'll just let that thought be, for the rueful fact is that no big producer in India would touch this film with a bargepole.

Boyle, along with his exceptional cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle don't look at slum life with lingering pity, instead what we get is a celebration of life and the sheer spirit to survive and win, against all odds. Set to AR Rahman's music, the images create an oddly beautiful, even poetic landscape that throbs and pulsates with life.

Simon Beaufoy's screenplay, skillfully adapted from Vikas Swarup's novel Q&A is taut and never less than gripping, and while it might be easy to nitpick and point loopholes and accents, this is clearly not a film about the tiny details and complaining about them is pretty pointless. The English and Hindi mix is handled pretty darn well, especially in the first half, and while it compromises on the authenticity, the writers have clearly done their best. If there is a weak spot in the film, it would have to be the central love story which did not come across as affecting enough to me, and I would perhaps blame some of that on Frieda Pinto who came across as a little lackluster despite a reasonably attractive presence. The rest of the cast is pitch perfect- right from Dev Patel as the pure-hearted Jamal and Madhur Mittal as his street smart brother Salim to the other supporting players- Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan and Ankur Vikal.

But the actors who really shine and give the film its most touching and endearing moments are without doubt the youngest- Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, and Rubiana Ali who play Salim, Jamal and Latika in the earliest parts of the film- the innocence they bring to the film is undescribably incredible, and for me, these little unsung heroes alone warrant that you watch this film.

In the end- of course- it's Danny Boyle, who like Jamal doggedly and devotedly jumps into a cesspool of s**t, and emerges wonderfully triumphant, even as some accuse him of 'cheating'. And thus, even as Slumdog didn't quite make it from exciting and compelling to exhilarating and magical for me- I don't for a second grudge the film its glory. After all, maybe the answer behind its success is simply (d).

Destiny, that is.