Slumdog Millionaire Director: Danny Boyle Starring: Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Madhur Mittal, Anil Kapoor, Irrfan Khan Danny Boyle is fast becoming a favourite director of mine, even though this is only the third of his films that I’ve seen (28 Days Later and Sunshine are the other two… while three more, includingTrainspotting sit in my queue). Above all else, he is a stunning visualist who produces memorable footage that helps his films overcome other narrative weaknesses. I wasn’t sure if his latest film,Slumdog Millionaire would appeal to me as much as the other two, given that it is a complete departure from his tense zombie film or his hard sci-fi adventure. The film is a decidedly more human and more earthy tale about a young man who grew up on the streets of India, who finds himself a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, having to face accusations of fraud for his ability to make it to the final question. The film follows his life through flashbacks, allowing Boyle to show off his ability for making dynamic images with the bright colours of Mumbai, without losing the humanity of his characters. And it works. This might be my favourite Boyle film yet. Verdict: Smashing Success - Easily my favourite movie of the festival so far, this one is a real crowd-pleaser, with emotional highs and lows, some genuine laughs, some tears, and a tense finale. Put this one on your to see list, and make sure to stick around during the final credits.
http://andythesaint.wordpress.com/2008/09/08/tiff-08-day-4/
