Slumdog Millionaire
Here
we go with the Oscar winner. No, definitely not the best film I’ve seen.
Nothing that original and definitely artificial in parts. The story and script is as convoluted as the
game show that is at the centre of it.
Danny Boyle immerses it all in the whole Indian experience from the
dirtiest slums to child slavery
, ripping off tourists, the wealthy mafia, call
centres, Mumbai real estate and Bollywood song and dance. And yet, the film manages to rise above all
of this somehow not to produce a classic film but to be a cinema phenomenon. It
is entertaining and attractive to look at but its merits are more than that and
can explain some of its overwhelming success and critical disdain.
1. It is about the
underdog winning against all odds and getting the girl.
2. The actors, especially
Dev Patel and Freida Pinto breathe meaning into their parts.
3. The character of Jamal
represents honesty in a world society sick from lies.
4. The very clichéd nature
of India and the game show also help people to identify with the film.
5. The film is more important
for its social comments than its artistic qualities, even though many of these
are of a high quality.
6. We can identify with
the Everyman in Jamal.
I
don’t know how I will stand on it by year end but as an entertaining story
Slumdog scores on all points and as with all stories you suspend disbelief in
order to accept it.
* * ** +
