A great film can do more than just tell a wonderful story: it can take you to another world, let you see life through a different set of eyes. Slumdog Millionaire may not have the most original story, but damn does it transport you. Shot on location in Mumbai, India, we are able to witness the harsh realities and stunning perseverance of a people and place we most likely would never otherwise visit. It's not always the most pretty experience, but it is an enveloping and enlightening one.I fear that people are going to go to see this expecting one thing while getting another, and being put off because of it. The premise is that Jamal (Dev Patel), a young man who grew up in the slums with no real education, has found himself on Who Wants to be a Millionaire, within grasp of winning the top prize. When the show breaks for the night, he is snatched by the authorities and tortured, under the assumption that a guy like him could never possibly know all these answers. From there we learn that each question on the show has a connection to a major point in his life, told through extensive flashbacks. I fear people are going to be more interested in the present day game show aspect of the movie - which is the more immediately thrilling aspect of the film - and less so in the back story. That is a huge mistake. The game show is simply a way to frame Jamal's life story, which is the true heart of the film. Remember that a picture frame is vital to the painting, but no matter how great a frame it is, it's not the reason you look at the painting. And it is through Jamal's life that we begin to grasp what an awesome achievement this film really is.
The mere fact that a film like this exists and stands a good chance of major Oscar consideration come year's end is a miracle in itself. Director Danny Boyle, a filmmaker I've admired but never loved, shot much of the film undercover on location in the slums. As a result, what we see surrounding the story is almost a documentary of the real Mumbai. Those are real slums, real starving people - an honest-to-God living and breathing world in every frame. I think that this film works in a more powerful way than a documentary would simply because it uses the fictional story of Jamal as a way to give us an entry point to this world.
I mentioned before that the story itself is not especially inventive or original. The characters are fairly archetypal, but they all feel so fully lived in that you completely forgive the film that transgression. I honestly felt like I'd experienced Jamal's life by the end of the film. So many movies these days feel rushed, unexplored, not totally realized. Not here. Slumdog has this quality about it that makes you feel like you've been enveloped, and by the end you are completely satisfied. Not enough films get credit for taking an idea or a world and exploring it to the last detail. Charlie Kaufman is one of those few who get that concept, and while I would not compare Slumdog Millionaire to any of Kaufman's narratives, they both do share this idea of a world fully realized.
At times this film can get quite dark, which may come as a shock at first. It opens with our hero being brutally tortured. The majority of his life leading up to the game show is dreary and gritty. But at the same time, it is filled with moments of great hope and honesty, and those moments of triumph are made all the more powerful for having been rooted in such a murky world. Boyle aids these moments with some great visual flairs and musical cues. Perhaps the most inspiring moment comes during the credits, of all times, as the cast breaks out into a Bollywood style song and dance number. It's like the visual embodiment of the happiness Jamal feels by the film's end, also reflecting how you will likely feel as you leave this deeply affecting film.
