Slumdog Millionaire Review

I'm happy this was a really good movie.

Not so much because it would've been a waste of two hours if it stunk, but mostly because I kind of dragged my girlfriend Erica to see it.

It's not that she wasn't interested — it's just that we'd already seen "Yes Man" and it turns out that she's NOT a psychotic movie freak and wasn't exactly thrilled with the prospect of plunking down for two more hours. I may or may not have had to purchase some over priced mozzarella sticks to grease the wheels.

I'm glad I did because I believe "Slumdog Millionaire" is worthy of its status as one of the year's best movies.

The story, based on the Vikas Swarup book "Q&A," centers on 18-year-old Jamal Malik, an orphan who grew up in the slums of Mumbai (Dev Patel). We learn at the start of the movie that Jamal is one question away from winning the ultimate prize on the Hindi version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire."

Unfortunately, Jamal is suspected of cheating and arrested the night before the final question. Through the police's interrogation and various flashbacks, we learn how Jamal came to know the answers to the questions.

This is the latest offering from electic director Danny Boyle (Trainspotting, 28 Days Later). While a couple of Boyle's previous movies have been terrific, this feels like the first time everything's clicked together in one of his films — visual pizzazz, emotion, and a balance of comedy and drama. (I felt the exact same way with Guillermo Del Toro and "Pan's Labyrinth."

Despite the modern gritty setting of the slums of Mumbai, this movie is clearly meant to be a sort of modern fairy tale. (As opposed to the similarly stylish, but more devastating "City of God.") As a result, as scary as the slum scenes can be (including a hellish stop at an orphanage), they never quite feel real.

Still, since it's not meant to be entirely realistic, it's easier to overlook some of the film's more unrealistic aspects and coincidences (you'll see the 20-million rupee question coming from a mile away if you're paying attention).

Another mildly unfortunate side effect is that some character development gets lost in the shuffle. We don't know too much more about Jamal's brother Salim other than he cares for Jamal, but is much more of a bad egg. We don't know too much more about Jamal's beloved Latika other than she's really REALLY pretty (maybe even too, unrealistically modely). We don't know too much more about Jamal other that he's a good guy (since he's the hero) and that he loves Latika.

In fact, the case could be made that the most fully-realized character is the condescending game show host (played by a great Anil Kapoor) sitting across from Jamal in the present and who may not necessarily be ready for someone else to be the biggest star in the show.

Then again, I already mentioned that this was a fairy tale. How much did we really know about Cinderalla or Sleeping Beauty besides their innate goodness? And how much did they know about their Princes Charming other than the fact that they were really handsome?

Also helping things along is the fantastic work done by the mostly inexperienced actors Boyle assembled to play Jamal, Salim and Latika at various ages.

I also like the fact that Boyle stages a foot chase in the slums and the game show sequences with the same high energy flair without ever coming off as busy or too showy. (The film's cinematographer will probably be picking up an Oscar in a couple of months.) Bonus points go to the Bollywood-inspired closing credits, which keep the energy high.

Despite the fact that there's not really a recognizable face in sight and that it takes place half a world away, this movie has a little bit of something for everyone and is definitely worth your time.

Slumdog Millionaire...A-