Thursday, November 13, 2008

Review: ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

See this movie. Really.
Do not ignore this advice!

Every now and then comes a movie that just blows you away.

Now I’ll admit to being easily entertained. I have a very low threshold for amusement. But “Slumdog Millionaire” is flat out amazing.

This despite a preposterous plot, a coming-of-age adventure story that takes a trio of young children through the innermost circle of hell after they are horribly orphaned in the worst imaginable slum of India and follows their lives through a window of memory opened by questions in the Hindi version of a very familiar television program, “Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”

To say too much would spoil some of the most riveting scenes I’ve ever sat through in a dark theater. Dickensian horrors, unimaginable cruelty and abuse, love, beauty, death, redemption, and... well, OK, even a little homage to Bollywood. And not to forget, “The Three Musketeers.”

The ending was a little predictable, but don’t get carried away with self-congratulation before it all plays out. Just leave your disbelief at the box office, take a seat atop a train speeding across a desert landscape, feel the rush of wind and let it sweep you away.

For details on all that stuff you find in reviews – the director, running time, the novel it's based on, reviews and film festival accolades – here’s the link: http://www.foxsearchlight.com/slumdogmillionaire

If, in the end, you took my advice and didn’t like this movie, well... we’ll always have Paris.

Or maybe, frankly, I don’t give a damn. I loved it, and so did Bonnie!

2 comments:

khatru1339 said...

We both liked it too. I liked the early parts, when they were very young, the best, but it was all good. And, hey, dancing! (Terry Gross asked Danny Boyle if he'd like to direct a musical, and he replied that every director wants to make a musical.)

I think you were away when we were offered Trouble the Water. It's been two real winners in a row.

Anonymous said...

Looks really good! I hadn't heard of it until I read your post. Watched the trailer. I will have to check it out.