Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire
Starring Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, Anil Kanpoor, Irrfan Khan, Madhur Mittal & Ayush Mahesh Khedekar

Out of all the films that have been released this year, Danny Boyle's unforeseen yet palpable masterpiece will win the naked golden man as the best movie of the year. "Slumdog Millionaire" is a rare occasion. Pop culture and a Dickensian tale never seemed so perfect together. It's a story of rock-bottom desperation, desperate love, and a romance retelling every love story out there. It's tainted with hardships most could never comprehend, but settles in memory as pure, weightless, effortless.

Jamal Malik, a young so-called "slumdog", finds himself on the Indian version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire" hosted cunningly by Anil Kanpoor who draws Regis Philbin, giving him claws. Jamal is one question away from winning the game, however, being of a unfortunate lifestyle, he's taken into custody and questioned as to how he knows all of the answers. Consequently and simultaneously, we discover both how Jamal knows the answers of the game show (such as "What U.S. president is on the one-hundred dollar bill?") and the young man's life story - which, of course, is the point of the film.

The movie opens with a question, at the time unanswerable, and ends with the answer - brilliantly, might I add. The script boils the theme of fate; that certain situations are meant to be, nothing is coincidence, and that some events are written. Jamal's life, full of such adversity, from both his society and surroundings, but most effectively, his older brother Salim. Salim's character, envious of Jamal's goodness and compassion, forces situations in which his younger brother must struggle through. Yet, Jamal never loses hope or sight of his true ambition: to find his long-lost love: Latika.

Spanning about fifteen years or more, Jamal, Salim, and Latika are played by three different performers of different ages. This can be problematic for some films, however with excellent casting and brilliant directing, "Slumdog's" three generation characters shine on their own and in their own light. Latika begins as a lost soul (Rubiana Ali), a girl with no parents and no where to go. She then forms into a beautiful young girl (Tanvi Ganesh Lonkar), about to be tainted by profiteers selling her to the highest bidder, and finally grows into the stunning woman of Jamal's dreams played glamorously by Freida Pinto. All three Salim's (Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, Ashutosh Lobo Gajiwala, and Madhur Mittal) portray a struggling brother who loses himself to the horrors and temptations of the slums. He is the Cain to Jamal's Abel, though the parable works a bit differently here.

Yet, the real power of the three actors irradiates off of the Jamal's. The youngest, played by Ayush Mahesh Khedekar, brings an unstoppable innocence and happiness to the shit that covers his life (and his entire body). He smiles and you can't help but give into his infection. The middle Jamal (Tanay Chheda) had a rough road ahead of him after such an enthralling performance by Khedekar, however, once he arrived at the Taj Mahal, Chheda overpowered us with slyness and skill. As for Dev Patel as the oldest Jamal, he allows the character a quietness mirroring his patience and his longing for Lakita. There isn't much that surprises him, though his will to find her overcomes him in an instant. He delivers a great performance for such a young, unknown actor.

Danny Boyle, the director, gives this year a world of reality and hope; something that is so polluted, it seems nothing good can come out of it. Yet, it does. A true fairy tale without the glitz and cliche, "Slumdog Millionaire" is this year's dog to bite and beat. But I doubt it will happen.

Grade: A+