Slumdog Millionaire 2008
This movie got very good reviews and was on a number of Top 10 lists for 2008. It is about a young contestant on India’s version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?. He is from the slums, lacks any education, but is able to work his way to the highest level. The movie is almost entirely in flashback as the police try to determine how he is cheating. He explains how he knows each answer as they review the tape of the show. It is an interesting premise that ties together a bunch of parts of the guy’s life and reveals the broader story of a kid growing up in some of the worst slums in the world.
The problem is just about every flashback involves some kind of terrible violence that leaves an indelible impression on him. Child abuse is rampant, with scenes of mutiliation and torture. There is also gangster violence, racial violence, and police brutality. Pretty much any kind of violence. So it is a kind of cute fairy tale premise that has this very dark streak through it. While I like the device of the gameshow and the questions, it is kind of a like a very violent Oliver Twist. These look like the real slums and you get some exposure to India, but this is a nightmare India. Not a place I would ever want to visit, this movie serves to only reinforce that viewpoint. Everyone in the movie is a bad person who might have a few moments of being good, except the poor kid who is the contestant. It is gritty and real, but also depressing and revolting.
It’s not just the violence that I didn’t like. There is a love story that is based on essentially nothing except that the two knew each other as children and see each other for maybe 30 minutes total after they are 10 years old. Also I have a hard time believing the police would get involved the way they do in the game show cheating. It felt very forced to make everything come together the way it did. Even the quiz show questions seem unbalanced, getting very hard at the end except the last question which was relatively easy. Lastly, Slumdog is essentially a British production and I have to wonder how the movie was received in India. Presented as a portrait of India, the main people behind the movie don’t really know the country that well.
The story is decent enough and you can’t help but pull for the contestant who has overcome far more obstacles than a chain of multiple choice questions. While I was able to get through some of the violence, my girlfriend really hated it. So I will give it a B-.
Written: 04 Jan 2009
Owned on: Digital