Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

What more is there to say about Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, a film which has wowed audiences, critics and awards ceremonies in the early part of 2009? Well, hopefully, a little bit otherwise this review will be a little pointless. Nominated for 10 Oscars, including some love for Boyle in the director's category, does this deserve the praise which has been heaped on it?

The answer is yes and no. Yes, because this is a terrific film, thoroughly enjoyable and intense throughout (except for perhaps a 15 minute or so period of drift), though it perhaps falls short of being the absolute classic it has been heralded as.

So, in case anyone needs reminding, Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), who ends up on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Accused of cheating because he answers the questions correctly, Jamal is interviewed by the police, during which it becomes clear why he knows the answers to the questions he is faced by...

This is a brilliantly put together film. Reminiscent of my favorite film of all time, Ikiru, in the way it narrates the story backwards. Slumdog stands as proof of the emotional effectiveness of focalising the drama in this way - as opposed to the traditional, linear, narrative fare of much mainstream cinema. Telling the story - effectively - backwards just seems to be a highly effective way of scoring emotional points and hitting the right psychological notes. This is done very effectively here.

I think I would echo my colleague's comments on the lead performances. Dev Patel and (the absolutely stunning) Freida Pinto are perfectly decent but should not, in reality, trouble our end of year lists (as they haven't my colleague's) nor, for that matter, any other, though, of course, far less prestigious, awards ceremonies. The stand out performance here is undoubtedly provided by Anil Kapoor, who plays Prem Kumar, the host of Millionaire who somehow manages to convey a character even more obnoxious than Chris Tarrant. Kapoor's performance bristles with energy and presence and he produces a very effective counter-vision to Jamal's wide-eyed innocence. The rest of the performances are all fine, though nothing special. That said, perhaps Ankur Vikal, as abusive and sleazy local hood Maman, deserves special mention - although I did feel that the 'gangster' sideshow was often superfluous to the film.

Despite the positives I was left feeling that I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I should have done and I would certainly question how well it would stand up to a second viewing. And I don't think that was all down to the people in the row in front, and in the row behind, giving the answers to the fictional questions on the gameshow and getting them wrong in all cases. When the geezer in the row behind said "D'Artagnan" for the last one, he almost got a faceful of what was left of our popcorn. In the end, though, the film just didn't resonate quite as it should have done, despite being fully enjoyable and generally satisfying. Further, there is enough here for many to enjoy and I don't recall, yet, hearing anyone say a bad word about it. Recommended but, in the end, perhaps only just.

B+