Destiny - Slumdog Millionaire

The end of this year seems to be filled with 'art house' films that I am just dieing to see. Unfortunately, Kansas City/Lawrence doesn't get the first run of these films. The likes of Doubt, The Wrestler, and Let the Right One In are just a few that have recently reached a larger audience. Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire is another film that falls in that very same category.

I had heard the incredible buzz around Slumdog awhile ago, and to be honest I really doubted that it could live up to the hype. A lot of littler Oscar-contending movies get so much hype that they won't live up to your exceeding expectations when you actually come around to seeing them. I have to be 100% honest when I say that Slumdog Millionaire is everything that everyone says about it. And now since it has swept the Golden Globes [best film, director, screenplay and score] it will hopefully get the attention of mainstream audiences that it rightfully deserves.

Slumdog encompasses everything that makes a great all around film: great storytelling, intriguing characters, beautiful cinematography, honest acting, an incredible score... I could go on but there's no need, upon viewing it speaks for itself. Danny Boyle has honed in on every little aspect of Indian life and culture. He has given us an incredible love story that takes us through the slums of Mumbai to the harsh lights of television fame. Our 'slumdog' Jamal has found himself being accused of cheating on India's version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire?". Through flashbacks during Jamal's interrogation, we get the story of Jamal's life and his pursuit of the love of his life, Latika. At its heart, Slumdog is not only a love story, but a fairy tale. While the love story of Jamal and Latika is the heart of the film, it is really the story of 'the three musketeers' of Jamal, Latika, and Jamal's brother Salim. Through the highest highs and the lowest of lows, these three give the audience a breathtaking and truely heartfelt story. It succeeds at telling a truthful love story more than the recent The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, which is in its own right a solid movie, but it still doesn't come close to Slumdog.

To tell anymore of the story would be robbing a new viewer of the wonderful discovery and surprises of Slumdog Millionaire. Despite what Danny Boyle may say, he has an incredible style and a very uniqure way to tell a fresh, new tale. Plus, any film that ends with a Bollywood-style dance sequence is just fantastical.

Maybe this isn't so much a review, but a plea for everyone to see this film if they can. It's something new, it's something fresh, it's something the likes you will never see again. My favorite film of 2008 [thus far, I still have just a few to check off the list...].

4 out of 4

[EDIT]

On a side note, why is this film rated R? It has a few torture scenes and a few 'fucks', but seriously? I didn't have much hope/respect for the MPAA to begin with, but I'm really losing everything now...