Review of Slumdog Millionaire (2008) by Cameron J — 22 Sep 2012

Forget Bollywood, this is Boyleywood, and boy, I'm betting Andrew Macdonald wishes that he was producing Danny Boyle films now. This is a good movie and all, but shoot, this slumpuppy isn't fit to shine the shoes of "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", though, in all fairness, Cate Blanchett deserved to win Best Actress, and didn't even get nominated, well, anywhere, so the award people were clearly trying out some seriously potent crack in 2008, thus I suppose I won't hold it to them too much for giving just about every award ceremony's Best Picture award to this film over "Benjamin Button". ...No, forget that, "Benjamin Button" got robbed, particularly in the Best Cinematography section at the Oscars, because although this film is pretty and all, seeing as how, come on, it's a Danny Boyle film, "Benjamin Button" would make Terrence Malick blush. Of course, to give credit where credit is due, if this film tops "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" in no other department, then it's the title department, because this film has a pretty awesome title, or at least when you compare it to the title of the novel upon which it's based, which is "Q & A". ...No, seriously, that's it, and with a title like that, it better be a good read. Shoot, it must be, not just because it's been translated into about 40 different languages (Again, it better be a good read if that many cultures are gonna read it), but because it sure does make for a good film, even if "Benjamin Button" does still make it look about as good as, well, the title "Q & A". Needless to say, changing the title for the better isn't the only good thing that this film does, and yet, as good as this film is, it can't completely wash the "outhouse" scene out of my heard-I mean, unlike its lead Jamal Malik character on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?", it doesn't always come up with an adequate answer to its problems.

The film's stylistic choices don't quite get to be as overbearing, or even as consistent in their overbearingness, as some of those in "Millions", yet a film of this subject matter doesn't entirely warrant the pronounced and lively stylistic tastes of someone like Danny Boyle, something made especially clear by the fact that Boyle gets extra stylish with this film, and while that often works better than you would expect, there come points in which the film becomes overstylized, to the point of drowning out substance and leaving you a bit exhausted by the freneticism of the style. Moments like these - where the film gets to be much too stylish for its own good - slow down the film's momentum, yet are reasonably few and far between, so what you really have to worry about the most is not the messiness of the style, but the more prominent messiness of the substance, which is not only thrown off by the aforementioned occasions of overstylizing, but also thrown off by the more commonly found flaws in narrative structure, for although the film's narrative is unique, and generally impressively so, it doesn't always work terribly well. The story is structured to follow the all too early maturing through misfortune of our lead Jamal Malik, Salim Malik and Latika characters, only to eventually break from that linear path to give us glimpses at Jamal Malik on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" in the future, and such a structure doesn't always flow comfortably, as there is a certain unevenness to the film's flashback-flashfoward structure, thus leaving the film's focus to feel a bit uncertain on occasions. The film's mild lack of focus goes intensified by filler, and plenty of it, as the film often breaks from plot to plummet into expendable material that slows its momentum down further, though not as much as, well, just plain all-out slowness. Even with his having plenty of entertaining titles under his belt, Danny Boyle has hit his slow spells in the past, though never quite like this, because with this film, Boyle really pulls out all the stops and slows things down, occasionally nearly to a stop, for although the film has plenty of entertaining moments, it all too often limps along rather dryly and quietly, to where it is occasionally made a bit dull and often left a bit too steady for its own good. Of course this film sweeped the award circuit, it's slow enough for the critics to fall in love with it, and such slowness gives you the opportunity to not only get a closer look at the aforementioned structural flaws in the story, but also see, likely with surprise, that this story, in the long run, really doesn't bite all that firmly to begin with, thus leaving the film to stand a fair ways away from being as strong as many say it is. However, where the final product ultimately stands is even further from underwhelmingness, for although the film stands to hit harder, it earns enough of your investment to get by, and does so with the help of plenty of fine style to catch your attention.

Back from his breather from Boyle, cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle makes an upstanding comeback to the Danny Boyle style team, for although I wouldn't consider Mantle's work the best of 2008 (Again, Claudio Miranda got robbed), it's definately up there, as this Danny Boyle film looks about as good as any, boasting brilliantly detailed and uniquely shaded color that goes complimented by striking lighting, as well as by many uniquely clever and dynamic shots that plunge you into this lovely world and help in reminding you of just how brilliant of a photographer the great A. D. Mantle is. As for Chris Dickens, as a Danny Boyle editor, he surpasses the skilled Chris Gill, yet still falls short of the remarkable Masahiro Hirakubo, though comes startlingly close, providing slickly quick cuts, as well as many other uniquely clever editing tricks that can be found throughout this film and help in livening things up considerably, which is something that you "can't" say about the soundtrack, something that I have rarely, if ever said about a Danny Boyle soundtack. Featuring no oldies and goodies, and only the film's still underwhelming theme song, "Jai Ho", as passable, while going otherwise pretty much entirely comprised of dreadful pop hip-hop and obnoxious Indian pop so soulless that Danny Boyle can't even pull his usual trick of bonding the music - such as it is - with the film's context and substance, this song soundtrack is quite decidedly, hands down, the worst ever featured in a Danny Boyle film. A. R. Rahman's score work, however, while a touch underused and not quite worthy of evoking the work of the great John Murphy, remains inspired in its marrying uniquely stylish poppiness with genuine artistry and depth to produce a unique and dynamic score that not only provides good music (certainly better music than what the mainstream soundtrack provides), but bonds with the substance of the film and supplements it gracefully and effectively. The style of the film is as slick as it usually is in a Danny Boyle film, having lovely livliness that not only strikes the senses, but supplements the film's substance, which may not have a whole lot of bite to it, yet still has enough depth to it to keep you going, especially with the quality of the artistry that backs up the execution of the film's worthy concepts. Still, when you get down to it, it's the passion within Danny Boyle's storytelling that makes this film as rewarding as it is, for although Boyle hits a few faults in his direction, he breathes charming spirit into this project that keeps you going, even when the film hits its relative lowest, or rather, slowest, and when depth and substance really come into play, Boyle bites with much intrigue, as well as moments of genuinely poignant emotional resonance that define the depth of this film, while leaving the audience rather moved, especially when we come to the ending, which really does wrap up everything very soulfully and leaves you to look back at this film fondly, even with the film's missteps and shortcomings. I wish I could say that this film has enough power to it to where it transcends its faults and ultimately stands as worthy of its high praise, yet I proudly deem this film a rewarding one, with style and depth that further defines Danny Boyle as a truly remarkable filmmaker, capable of making satisfying films, such as this one.

In closing, the film gets to be overstylized at times, yet its steam takes the hardest hits from an occasionally uneven and sometimes unfocused structure, as well as from padding through filler, made all the more intense by consistent slowness that sometimes collapses into undeniable dullness, thus making the natural shortcomings within this worthy yet not especially remarkable story all the more clear, while leaving the final product to fall short of worthy of its high praise, which isn't to say that this film doesn't deserve praise, as it ultimately stands strong through all of its faults, being supported by fine style and score work, and secured as genuinely rewarding by Danny Boyle's lively, intriguing, periodically resonant and altogether inspired storytelling, which does the most in making "Slumdog Millionaire" a charming and compelling drama, from which you will walk away well-rewarded, even if this film stood a chance of doubling its winnings (Get it, "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" joke?).

3/5 - Good.