Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle (From Milford Mercury)

Slumdog Millionaire directed by Danny Boyle

9:20am Tuesday 16th June 2009

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Slumdog Millionaire (15)

Eighteen-year-old Jamal Malik (Dev Patel) has been raised by his older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) since the boys lost their mother to the violence of a religious uprising.

Falling into the clutches of child slave traders, the youngsters use guile to survive on the streets, encountering a pretty orphan girl called Latika (Freida Pinto) who will change their lives forever.

Jamal’s luck seems to change when he finds himself in the hot seat on India’s version of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?’, hosted by Prem (Anil Kapoor).

Miraculously, the orphan knows the answer to each question and, as he edges closer to the 20 million rupee final question, Jamal stands on the brink of a momentous leap of faith that could drag him, Salim and Latika out of the gutter.

Slumdog Millionaire was the undisputed top dog at this year’s Academy Awards. Danny Boyle’s film is an utterly irresistible rites of passage drama that builds to an extraordinary emotional crescendo, employing a simple flashback structure to chart Jamal’s journey from the slums.

Set to the infectious rhythms of A. R. Rahman’s evocative soundtrack, Simon Beaufoy’s multi-layered screenplay doesn’t strike a single false note as it pieces together the chronologically fragmented narrative.

Patel and the actors who play the hero’s younger incarnations hold us spellbound, delivering natural performances that tug the heartstrings. In the space of a single vignette, the film glides from side-splitting comedy to gut-wrenching despair, with an honesty and subtlety that continually catches us off guard.

Just as enjoyable on a second viewing on DVD, Slumdog Millionaire is unquestionably one of the best films you will see all year.

RATING: *****
Damon Smith

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