MARK FOKER'S MOVIE REVIEW 'SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE' (From Surrey Comet)

MARK FOKER'S MOVIE REVIEW 'SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE'

4:59pm Monday 2nd March 2009

• Print
• Email

Is there really anyone out there who hasn’t seen this film yet?

I feel a bit bad that I’ve only just got around to seeing it and the expectations were high since winning every award under the sun.

I’m pleased to say that I wasn’t disappointed. For those of you who have been living in a cave the plot is as follows…A young man Jamal (Dev Patel) is a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?”. Through his life experiences, knowledge, chance or maybe destiny? He works his way through each question until he is one answer away from winning the top prize of 20 million rupees. Just as he is about to go to the next question the horn blows, signifying the end of that night’s show and they break for the evening.

With a tip off from the shows host Prem Kumar ( brilliantly played by Anil Kapoor a star of over 100 movies, who plays this role with just the right amount of Bob Monkhouse smarminess) he arranges for Jamal to be arrested by the police under suspicion of cheating. After all, how can a Slumdog possibly know any of the answers when only the likes of doctors and lawyers are normally the contestants who do well? This shot of Jamal on the quiz show is inter cut with a scene of him being brutally tortured by the police. He finally agrees to tell them how he knows the answers and we are taken on a journey into his past and come to understand the hard luck and harsh upbringing he and his elder brother Salim had in the slums of Mumbai.

This is very cleverly done with the police chief fast forwarding each series of questions from the video clip of the show and Jamal explains each part of the jigsaw. From the title of the movie you may think that this is a story of greed and money but Jamal has a different reason for wanting to appear on the show which is later revealed. As children Jamal and Salim have to live on their wits to survive day to day living. Jamal also looks to Salim for guidance and protection but he has also built a relationship with a young orphan girl Latika. She becomes his one true love and he spends his life trying to find her when they become separated during a particular harrowing scene in the film.

Slumdog Millionaire has a 15 certificate and has been billed as the ‘feel good film of the year’. Although I liked the film and I think it’s a ‘must see’ movie, I wouldn’t say it was feel good.

There are far too many dark scenes that can be difficult to watch as they show the truth of what these children face in the Mumbai slums. However, there are some lighter moments and ultimately the film is a love story, will the young lovers find each other and will they live happy ever after?

All of the cast do a great job. I think that Dev Patel will go onto greater things and the stunning Freida Pinto who plays the adult Latika will have Hollywood talent agencies fighting over her. I must say though that the kids who play the main characters when they are younger are absolutely brilliant! Hats off to Danny Boyle for making such a gritty film which may have been victim to a Hollywood ‘happy’ make-over if it had gone straight to a US distributor from the start.

Don’t leave it too late…go see it! 4 STARS