More than the money

Slums in the Third World are, by nature, tragic places–and Danny Boyle’s new film, Slumdog Millionaire, doesn’t aim to change that essential truth, even as it finds the beauty in its hardscrabble surroundings.

The film opens on a ball game being played at the end of an airport runway. Jamal Malik, the film’s protagonist, is a child, and as he runs from the police chasing him off the property, the scene crosscuts to modern day, where as an adult he is being tortured by a police officer. They suspect he’s been cheating on the Indian version of Who Wants To Be a Millionaire? How else could a “slumdog” be so close to winning 20 million rupees?

As Jamal describes in a series of flashbacks (the majority of the film is based around these scenes) he knows the answers because each is related to a childhood tragedy. How does he know about a famous actor? He once (literally) crawled through shit to get an autograph. How does he know the president on an American $100 bill? A blind child–a fate he narrowly escaped–once told him. And so it goes.

We learn about Jamal, and the tragic lessons of the Mumbai slums, as he explains his answers on the television show. We also learn of his struggle to be with the woman he loves, the one goal that has stayed consistent since he was a child.

Slumdog Millionaire, based the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup, is not trite in its portrayal of the slums or its love story. The film is often brutally true-to-life, as it was shot on location amid heaps of trash. Boyle’s camera feels like the lens of a documentarian, gobbling his landscapes up in untidy mouthfuls, shaking and whirling in wonder.

This all fits the redemption-fueled plot perfectly, as we learn about India through the vistas of Jamal’s personal experiences. And yes, there’s tragedy here, but ultimately hope and raw beauty.

The acting by breakout star Dev Petal (whose only previous work was in the great BBC series Skins) as the adult Jamal works well, and Boyle extracts depth-filled performances from his other actors, including many children.

The hyper-stylized, hyper-colorful feel of Slumdog Millionaire is supported by a fluid editing style, with quick cuts and close-ups. Boyle found a pulse here and he rides it to success–the film is visually arresting like few other works this year.

Ultimately, like the amazing 2002 film City of God, Slumdog Millionaire informs and revels in the particular life derived from slums. It’s emotional and interesting, but most of all, this film feels like it matters.

Slumdog Millionaire4 starsComes out Dec. 19