British director Danny Boyle takes another intriguing career turn with this heartfelt underdog tale. Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is a street kid (or "slumdog") who has landed an appearance on India's version of the hit TV game show WHO WANTS TO BE A MILLIONAIRE? Jamal exceeds expectations on the show, and the producers alert the police after they become suspicious of his methods. The young contestant is subsequently arrested and is interrogated at the hands of a nameless police inspector (played by Bollywood star Irfan Khan). As the interrogation proceeds, Boyle tells Jamal's story through harrowing flashbacks that both show the terrible poverty of Mumbai and help explain how he knew the answers to the MILLIONAIRE questions.
SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is a tightly woven story that has been expertly edited into shape. The contrast between Jamal's upbringing and his chance of escaping it on the show are adeptly juxtaposed. Mumbai is portrayed as a place of terrifying poverty and unforgettable brutality, and Jamal and his brother get into a never-ending succession of challenging situations. But the way Boyle ties together Jamal's life experiences with his answers on the show is quite brilliant, and the film really does run the full gamut of emotions as we see him growing up, falling in love, coming close to death, and teetering on the brink of escaping from his terrible predicament. The film belongs to Boyle's cast, who are mostly unknown outside of India. Patel, in particular, gives a startlingly mature performance that audiences are likely to remember long after the credits role on this affecting feature.
Review 1:
4 stars out of 4 -- "The exhilarating and sweeping SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is one in in a million....With dazzling, magical realism and vigorous storytelling, the film has an enchanting power, fusing a fairy tale quality with gritty realism."
Source: USA Today
11/14/2008
Review 2:
"Boyle sets pulses quickening not through social critique but with bright colors, nifty camerawork, lots of running, and lots of music."
Source: Film Comment
p.69 11/01/2008
Review 3:
"SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE is brash and lively and compulsively watchable....It's when Jamal is 18, and played by Dev Patel, that the movie takes on a touch of gravitas..." -- Grade: B
Source: Entertainment Weekly
p.97 11/21/2008
Review 4:
Ranked #2 in Rolling Stone's 'Movies Of The Year' -- "Movie love fills every frame of this rowdy beauty from director Danny Boyle."
Source: Rolling Stone
p.116 01/08/2008
Review 5:
5 stars out of 5 -- "The kinetic, visually arresting drama, touching, sometimes funny and often horrifying, marks a new high in Boyle's career as he explores India's political, economic and social framework through the prism of a coming-of-age story."
Source: Box Office
p.82 11/01/2008
Review 6:
"Danny Boyle's SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE hits the ground running. This is a breathless, exciting story, heartbreaking and exhilarating at the same time..."
Source: Chicago Sun-Times
11/11/2008
Review 7:
4 stars out of 5 -- "Braiding Boyle's thrilling depiction of a teeming, steaming India and writer Simon Beaufoy's deft mixture of comedy, romance, drama and suspense, SLUMDOG is a near-total delight."
Source: Total Film
p.52 01/01/2009
Review 8:
3.5 stars out of 4 -- "The whoosh of action and romance pulls you in, but it's the bruised characters who hold you there....The no-bull honesty of SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE hits you hard. It's the real deal..."
Source: Rolling Stone
97 11/13/2008
Review 9:
5 stars out of 5 -- "At heart, this is Hollywood melodrama, Capra's wish-fulfilment parlayed into a new world....Thrillingly upbeat."
Source: Empire
02/01/2009
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