A review of “Slumdog
Millionaire” by Jeanne Aufmuth
Stars: ****
Rating: R for violence,
language and disturbing images
Run
Time: 1
hour, 56 minutes. In English and Hindi with English subtitles
Danny Boyle
turns his sights to India’s
vast underbelly in this vivid exploration of one young man’s steadfast quest
for the ubiquitous brass ring.
In present day
Mumbai Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) sits on the hot seat of India’s “Who Wants to be
a Millionaire?” game show, poised to win the elusive grand prize of $20 million
rupees. Refusing to believe that Jamal is coming by his answers honestly the
police get involved, punctuating their brutal torture tactics with penetrating
questions on how a simple chai server from India’s poorest slums came by such
arcane knowledge.
With serendipitous
charm flashbacks detail Jamal’s rise through hardscrabble poverty to survival
of the fittest. Along with elder brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) Jamal travels
the poignant backroads of adolescence; first love (to the exquisitely
strong-willed
Latika played by the lovely Freida Pinto), petty crime and the stark realities
of life on the streets.
Jamal desperately
sticks to the straight and narrow while Salim succumbs to adult delinquency as
henchman
to Mumbai’s most notorious mobster. The brothers’ fates ebb and flow, losing
ground and losing touch then reuniting in a sticky state of affairs fraught
with the delicious ticklings of destiny.
This is not
your mother’s rags-to-riches story. Youthful vitality vies with Dickensian
injustice for a rousing travelogue of dazzling visuals, roller coaster
narrative and astonishing array of gypsies, tramps and thieves.
Boyle’s
technique is flat out brilliant, a crazy kaleidoscope of craft and color that’s
a matchless homage to India’s limitless favelas – vibrant with revulsion yet
pulsating with principled promise. Boyle claims India’s slums are less about
value judgment and more about geographic statement; his respect for the
hard-working people cheerfully existing in these dense and dismal conditions is
evident in every frame.
Patel, Mittal
and Pinto nail their adult roles but their child and teen counterparts deserve
enormous credit for their enchanting turns as bright-eyed poppet prophets of
the ghettos. Bollywood
finale adds a touch of whimsy – intermittent clichés so beautifully crafted
they ultimately become trut
http://www.aufmuth.com/jeanne/reviews/SlumdogMillionaire.html
