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Trust Weighted
Perfect
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72Trust Points
Wolfman898's Review
Summary - Perfect 5.0 click to collapse contents
Boyle’s previous films are all fast-paced and energetic, and Slumdog Millionaire is an incredibly, frantically energetic film. From its opening interrogation scene, the film grabs a hold and never lets go. The exceptionally potent screenplay by Simon Beaufoy creates profuse quantities of tension and excitement, combining three parallel story lines – the interrogation following the game show, all of the events in the protagonist’s life leading up to the game show, and the game show itself – and bounding between them frequently, constructing a fragmented chronology that only steps up the tension. Combine that with the natural tension of a trivia game show such as “Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?”, and we end up with an irresistible brisk, energetic film.
Many have been hailing Slumdog Millionaire as the “feel-good film of the year”. But in fact, it is far from it: While its final message may be heartwarming and uplifting, most of the film shows us a dark, gritty portrayal of people in our modern world living in the most difficult of circumstances. The exotic depiction of the “real India” as it is referred to in the film is unique and beautiful; frightening and magical; energetic and lively while at the same time shocking and mesmerizing. Boyle gives this depiction an unprecedentedly skillful portrayal, featuring energetic cinematography and featuring wonderful performances from a very diverse cast, many of whom are local non-actors delivering lines in Hindu. And screenwriter Simon Beaufoy has framed this depiction with a wonderful story of a young slumdog winning the grand prize while playing on the “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” television game show program, his knowledge of the answers to the questions deriving from his various, colourful experiences as a young man growing up in the harshest circumstances Mumbai has to offer.