Film Review: Slumdog Millionaire

6:43p.m., Wed 14 Jan 2009

What's really neat about Slumdog Millionaire is the framing device. The story cuts between present day, where our central hero, Jamal Malik, is competing on the 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire' TV Show and the past of his childhood, where, as we discover exactly how Jamal knows the answers to these questions, his life story unravels. Both stories are not without twists until the two stories coincide as the movie concludes.

It's a story that ranges over a myriad of topics, seemingly covering the history of India in a single fell swoop, without feeling forced or like it's trotting out the usual stereotypes. It's odd that Slumdog is being sold as a "feelgood movie" whilst covering mutilation, religious riots, mafia killings, abject poverty and scenes of torture.

Whilst it's not a feelgood story, it does look gorgeous and sets a tone akin to that of the dumb rom-com that has become the staple British movie since "Four Weddings...". It's a chocolate-box depiction of the slums of India, with dazzlingly vibrant depictions of the violent, corrupt, filthy side of the country. But whilst it's gorgeous to look at, it feels uncomfortable to be cajoled into marvelling at desperate, starving Indians scratching out a livelihood on a seemingly endless landfill site. What makes this confusing clash of tragedy & beauty even odder is the creative partnership that's produced the movie: writer Simon Beaufoy (The Full Monty) teaming up with director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later) - odd that you'd reasonably expect Beaufoy to offer the feelgood and Boyle to offer the horror.

As well as being visually stunning it's also self-consciously kooky, and by that I mean that every establishing shot seems to be off-set to thirty degrees - which quickly gets annoying once the novelty wears off. And despite being visually remarkable the soundtrack is likely to cause nausea and anxiety attacks.

The lead actors excel, and the fact that the three central characters are played by three different actors doesn't detract at all - a fact that is entirely down to the actors involved rather than any direction or make-up. The first transition of ages happens when Jamal and his brother Salim fall from a moving train and tumble down an embankment, their faces obscured with a whirlwind of grass and earth as Boyle lets rip with the visuals. As the dust settles the characters sit up and dust down bodies that have aged five years in the blink of an eye. It's a nice trick of overtly acknowledging the change of personnel, leaving the audience is left in no doubt as to which character is which.

The film loses a little pace in the final third as the estranged brothers attempt to re-unite a, X enters the final stages of his millionaire quiz but not disastrously so. I'm writing this the day after Slumdog has scooped four Golden Globes and is being hailed as a 'masterpiece'. It's certainly better than anything Boyle has done since Trainspotting.

Slumdog links:

• IMDB Entry
• The Flash-tastic Official Site
• "Winslet & Slumdog Sweep Golden Globes" (from BBC News)