Cast: Dev Patel, Irrfan Khan, Anil Kapoor, Madhur Mittal
Dir: Danny Boyle
Rating: 5/5
So now all the hype around Slumdog Millionaire it's time to look at this movie to see if it really is all that or have we, and the movie big wigs, just got caught in the feel good factor of the film.
Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is a street kid (or "slumdog") who has landed an appearance on India's version of the hit TV game show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Jamal exceeds expectations on the show, and the producers alert the police after they become suspicious of his methods.
The young contestant is subsequently arrested and is interrogated at the hands of a nameless police inspector (Irfan Khan). As the interrogation proceeds, Boyle tells Jamal's story through harrowing flashbacks that both show the terrible poverty of Mumbai and help explain how he knew the answers to the Millionaire questions.
Mumbai is portrayed as a place of terrifying poverty and unforgettable brutality, and Jamal and his brother get into a never-ending succession of challenging situations.
It's hard to believe that this movie was on the verge of going straight to DVD if it had many of us would have missed out on this rags to riches tale that makes stars of it's cast and once again puts Danny Boyle on the international stage.
The hype around this movie is wholly justified Slumdog Millionaire is one of those movies that you just get caught up in as we follow Jamal's difficult journey as he falls in love, fights to stay alive and faces the chance to leave all his difficulties behind him.
Boyle isn't afraid to dig into India's underbelly highlighting exploitation, corruption and the difficulties to survive and he contrasts this beautifully with the colours and the life that bursts out of the slums.
And while Boyle has produced a movie that celebrates life and hope wrapped up in this gameshow it very much is a movie of survival and how Jamal hopes to try and leave of that behind him.
Dev Patel shines in his first major film role as Jamal, whose only desire is to find Lakita, the love of his life, rescue her from her difficult circumstances and keep her safe. He is the everyman character that everyone gets behind as he faces the chance to change his life forever.
And it's the excellent cast, many which are not known outside of India, that really drive this movie: Anil Kapoor is excellent as the Who Wants to be a Millionaire? host as he struggles to share the limelight with Jamal who captures the hearts and imaginations of a city.
Irfan Khan is also excellent as the police office who tries to get to the bottom of allegations that somehow Jamal is cheating. But the real stars of this movie are the children who really steal the movie.
This is, without a shadow of a doubt, Boyle's best work since trainspotting back in 1996 and along with Anthony Dod Mantle's cinematography, which really brings India alive to the point where the country is a character in it's own right, they plunge the audience into this foreign world for which they feel affection by the end of the film.
Slumdog Millionaire is a modern fairy tale that you will be left thinking about long after the credits roll. Danny Boyle has crafted a truly beautiful movie that contains nothing but heart.
Here is a movie that is both harrowing and touching without going over the top on both whilst bring India to life.
Mixing comedy, romance, drama and violence Hollywood meets Bollywood, and A.R. Rahman's score fits so well that I defy you not to smile by the time we reach the Bollywood style dance credits.
Slumdog Millionaire is a piece of cinema gold that really is a must see.
Slumdog Millionaire is out now
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in Slumdog Millionaire