Danny Boyle + A. R. Rahman - Slumdog Millionaire

[Nerd]

Surprised that no one has created a thread for exclusive discussions on this film. Wibhs, Complicateur, Feddy and others please post your reviews here. I know you guys posted it elsewhere, I am not able to locate them.

I am watching it on christmas day

[Wibha]

nerd

gonna watch it again

[littlemaster1982]

Wibha, Nerd

[littlemaster1982]

Sara Vilkomerson’s Guide To This Week’s Movies: Rags to Rupees

For those of you who are closely following the November and December horse race of potential Oscar films, don’t count out Slumdog Millionaire. It might not have a Leo or a Kate or even a Batman in it, but this latest film from Danny Boyle (of Trainspotting and 28 Days Later) is just the kind of feel-good, energetic film that will have voters feeling magnanimous come voting times. And rightly so, because Slumdog Millionaire (in spite of having a title that really does nothing for you until you’ve actually seen the movie) is very sharp, smartly executed and has just enough sneaky sentiment that reviewers will surely bust out all their clichés (“you’ll be cheering in your seats!”).

We meet our hero, Jamal Malik (Dev Patel), while he’s a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? And if anyone needs a strong flashback to those heady late ’90s/early aught days, just hearing the theme music will make you feel instantly nostalgic for Regis. Eighteen-year-old Jamal is an orphan, raised on the streets (a.k.a. a “Slumdog”) in poverty and unimaginable circumstances. When he starts to answer enough questions correctly to get near the big cash prize, there’s suspicion that he’s been cheating. He’s hauled off for questioning, and it’s there—with the always awesome Irfan Kahn (The Namesake) as interrogator—that we’re able to flashback through Jamal’s life and find out why it is that an uneducated kid knows all the answers. The screenplay was based on the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, and the clever structure might have been annoying or even felt contrived if Simon Beaufoy’s screenplay wasn’t so stylish. Jamal, it turns out, has been through an awful lot. He and his older brother, Salim, manage to escape an attack that kills their mother, only to be left starving and on their own. But they join up with another, a little girl named Latika, and dub themselves the The Three Musketeers. More trials and triumphs follow, none that we’ll spoil. Suffice it to say that there are many surprises—and horrors—in the movie, but there’s a lot of sweetness, too: This whole slick package is wrapped around an unabashed love story. The actors are all pretty good—most amazing are the little kids that portray young Jamal, Salim and Latika and the performances Mr. Boyle was able to coax out of them. Clearly, the director had some sort of spiritual awakening in India, or at least a love affair with the landscape. Even when shooting scenes of dirt and misery, he can’t help but still make India look beautiful, and full of color. Also, the musical score is kind of genius, even though we could stand not to have another movie that features MIA’s “Paper Planes.” (Though yes, it works great here, and if we had to choose between it being in this one or Pineapple Express, Slumdog would win hands down. Also, a famous film critic was dancing in their seat in front of us.) Lastly, judging from this film’s conclusion, we’d like to request that all movies end from now on with a giant dance number.

[ajaybaskar]

Terrific. Thanx for posting,LM.

[Nerd]

This is the second film this year which has surpassed its hype. What stunned me today was the visuals. Spectacular. 10/10 on the technical front. Breathless editing, superb cinematography and terrific BGM. First half was India's version of City of God and I wish Danny makes a whole movie on the Bombay slums. The depiction of slums was hard-hitting and had a greater impact in me than Salaam Bombay.

I thought only Mausam and Escape did not fit the mood of its scene. Apart from that the score was mindblowing, definitely a frontrunner for the oscars. O Saya video was excellent.

The characterizations were brilliant. Screenplay by Simon Beaufoy was riveting, the narrative style was very clear and convincing. Just perfect. Except the eldest of the Salims everybody else did very well in the acting front. The youngest of Jamals is the best actor by a mile. I read a few people criticizing Anil Kapoor but he has done very well. Dialogues were terse and to the point. And Danny Boyle is evident in each and every frame

Did not like Jai Ho. It comes after the movie gets over and all that, but IMO it just dilutes the poignancy of the situation. Actually I did not feel it that way, one of my friends (non-Indian) said so. I was inclined to agree with that opinion. But apart from us, everybody else liked the song and the dance. Standing ovation for the movie, only the second movie to get that feet this year.

Have not seen many movies this year, but slumdog is a frontrunner for
1. Best Director
2. Best adapted screenplay
3. Best Original Score
4. Best Picture

[littlemaster1982]

Thanks for the review Nerd. Can't wait to watch. Now that the screener is out

[crajkumar_be]

A negative review...

http://englishtamil.blogspot.com/200...llionaire.html

This movie is so full of it. The teenage kids can't act, the stereotypes are beaten to death and the juxtapositions are ridiculous. Life in the slums could not have been exaggerated, romanticized and yet contradicted into a weird concoction worse than this movie has.

The only way to watch the movie is to not take it seriously (as Boyle does sporadically); even though it deals with communal riots, child abuse, gangsters, sexual violence, poverty, social prejudice etc. After all, it dares to break into a self-mocking song and dance in the end of it all. "Hey, they are just celebrating the spirit of the youth and the triumph of the underdog! Just chill, will ya?" Sure.

I wonder what people like Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay) and Dev Benegal (Split Wide Open) have to say about this clueless caricature that deals with topics that are too many even for a quiz-game show.

PS. I liked the background score, though.

[thilak4life]

ethir partha mathiri oru response. With the plot, and somewhat pompous title "Slumdog millionaire", one should know better. Ever since the announcement, it reeked of this comparison to SB in its sensuality (or lack thereof) or to City of God in its technique. Parppom...

A negative review...

http://englishtamil.blogspot.com/200...llionaire.html

This movie is so full of it. The teenage kids can't act, the stereotypes are beaten to death and the juxtapositions are ridiculous. Life in the slums could not have been exaggerated, romanticized and yet contradicted into a weird concoction worse than this movie has.

The only way to watch the movie is to not take it seriously (as Boyle does sporadically); even though it deals with communal riots, child abuse, gangsters, sexual violence, poverty, social prejudice etc. After all, it dares to break into a self-mocking song and dance in the end of it all. "Hey, they are just celebrating the spirit of the youth and the triumph of the underdog! Just chill, will ya?" Sure.

I wonder what people like Mira Nair (Salaam Bombay) and Dev Benegal (Split Wide Open) have to say about this clueless caricature that deals with topics that are too many even for a quiz-game show.

PS. I liked the background score, though.

[complicateur]

Just had the pleasure of catching Slumdog Millionaire and hearing Rahman's background score in all its detail on my headphones. Its rich and textured and does full justice to Danny Boyle's vision of the incredibly chaotic but irrationally compassionate country we call home. It has great string work be it the Santoor or guitar (I thought I heard some VeeNa in some paces but cant be sure). As always there is great percussive work to depict the cadence of the overflowing populace and the best work is reserved for chase sequences. The BGM use is sparing but what is used is apt and augments the visuals very well.

Coming to Slumdog, I actually caught it on an Oscar Screener DVD fromthe studio (perks of having a roommate in the entertainment business). Its biggest draw will be the completely international cast and the exoticism of shooting in India. I think Danny Boyle does great justice to the pulse of Mumbai, while still glorifying its poverty as is to be expected. It should be up for Best adapted screenplay and best movie definitely.
The performances I am not sure, though personally I loved Saurabh Shukla. He is awesome and I was a little upset he didnt get separate title credits. Irrfan is good as is Anil Kapoor, but the performances are all very deliberate. I would be surprised if anyone got a peformance nomination, but its gathering a lot of steam in the press so its anyone's guess. ARR might be up for musical score or at least best number from a movie. It would be awesome to see Rahman and MIA perform on Oscar night in the Kodak.