Slumdog Millionaire

Review by Anthony Morris

Whatever his faults, director Danny Boyle (Sunshine, 28 Days Later) has always known how to put together one heck of a ride.

Slumdog Millionaire is a story tailor-made for his talents: it's fast, it's flashy, it's exciting, and if the story doesn't exactly work as well as it should - chances are you'll be well on your way home before you figure that out.

Bottom-rung Indian teen Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) is not only a contestant on the Indian version of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, he a contestant set to win the lot. 

But to draw out the suspense over two big nights, he's got to come back tomorrow to play for everything, which provides the local police with a great opportunity to drag him off and torture him to find out how he's cheating.

Because clearly a humble cha-wallah (tea boy) couldn't possibly know all the answers, right? 

So Jamal begins to explain how he came to know all those obscure facts, and as he does so we get to see how he got to where he is today, from his childhood in the slums to his life on the streets with his rougher, tougher brother. 

Through all the troubles (his mother is killed by a religious mob, the brothers fall into the clutches of a orphanage where the kids are disfigured so they'll earn more as beggars), there is one constant in Jamal's life: his love for Latika (Freida Pinto). 

It's this love that's brought him to the game show - but will it be enough to get him over the final hurdle?

As you would expect from the director of Trainspotting, this film is bursting with energy. 

Even though Jamal's life is mostly a string of brushes with death and grinding poverty, it's never less than exhilarating to watch. This balance between excitement and reality is a bit less thrilling story-wise though, as the plot gradually slides from the gritty realism of the early scenes to a cliched gangster story.

Meanwhile Jamal relates every question, no matter how obscure, from the game show to something that happened in his life, and eventually this becomes a bit much to take. 

But while story problems prevent this film from being as amazing as it promises to be early on, with all the energy and excitement comes off the screen chances are you'll be enjoying this ride far too much to care.

4.5 out of 5