Slumdog Millionaire: The Reason We Love Movies

Slumdog Millionaire is amazing. I'm sitting here watching the 81st Annual Academy Awards and hoping that Slumdog wins every category it's in. I just saw it yesterday and it changed my entire outlook on this year's movies.

Yesterday I went to a special theater event where they showed all of the Academy Awards Best Picture Nominees back to back. The line up went like this.

1. Milk
2. The Reader
3. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
4. Slumdog Millionaire
5. Frost/Nixon

Almost 14 hours in total, it was a long day. You really have to be a film lover to sit still for that long and let someone tell you their story. I am in fact a film lover, but even I was a little groggy after the first 2 Movies. Remember these are Best Picture nominees. That requires them to be heavy and thought provoking by definition. They're supposed to weigh heavily on you. And they certainly took a toll, whether I thought they were excellent or not.

We took a big break in the middle because we had already seen Benjamin Button. And then came the clear gem of the evening. I've been hearing nothing but acclaim for Slumdog Millionaire for months. But I honestly had no desire to see it until some time in January when I read a short synopsis. Even the pitch to this movie is compelling. My paraphrasing:

A boy from the slums of Mumbai, India manages to land on that country's version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. He's one question away from winning it all, when he is arrested for suspicion of cheating. Now he must convince his accusers that his whole life has shown him the answers, and led him to this moment...

I know right! You're kind of intrigued now too right. I went into it with almost no information and no expectations. And I was blown away. This movie was tremendous. It does almost everything right, and I only say "almost" in a vain attempt to try and retain a bit of my natural cynicism.

I want you to see this movie so much, I'm going to refrain from giving out spoilers. Instead I'll just talk about what you'll love about it, and hope that convinces you to see it. If it wins Best Picture tonight (and it should) then you'll certainly be able to catch it in theaters.

You'll love the characters

We watch the 2 brothers, Jamal and Salim, grow from young boys to young men. They are played by 3 different actors each and all are great. The fact that they all keep the same consistent character is astounding. You can't help but love with these boys while watching their adventures around India and the way they stick together through it. The poop scene, the Latika rescue scene, so many others. You really believe in them, you fear for them when they're in danger, and you feel elated when they triumph.

You'll love the story

The stories in Slumdog have been told for centuries. Two brothers, one on the wrong path. A young man chasing after his great love. And the reason they are always retold is that we love them. They are the stories we can always relate to. But recently I've found that it's harder and harder for these movies to hit pay dirt. Every time you see them, they get a little older, a little more familiar. And it's only a short hop from familiar to cliché.

The talent of a great filmmaker is that they can revitalize these tried and true tales. We want to see them again. But we want them to feel new. Slumdog pulls this off beautifully. Taking the story to India allows it to present so many new things. It introduces new set pieces that you're not used to. In some cases it's pretty jarring, like when the young brothers are picked up by an "orphanage" that turns out not to be such a safe haven. While watching your favorite story, you're also being exposed to a new world. And so Slumdog achieves what's become more difficult to do these days. It's gives us something that's "The same thing, only different."

You'll care how it ends

This was the clincher for me. This has been my primary complaint with many of the movies I've watched for the past 5 or more years. Hollywood is losing us on the ending. You know how it goes. You've watching a pretty good movie for the last hour and half, and then you're hit with the "twist". Somehow it has become a matter of course in Hollywood that people need some kind of unexpected turn to be interested in a film's ending. But when that ending turns out to be stupid or predictable or just plain uninteresting, you leave the movie feeling dissatisfied. Let down. Taken for a ride. A ride that cost $8-$12 depending on where you live.

Slumdog Millionaire combats this with 2 very simple methods.

1. You know the climax from the start of the movie
2. The entire movie is spent making you care about the climax

In fact, even if you haven't seen the movie, you know the climax right now. Jamal is one question away from winning 20,000,000 rupees ($402,257.11 US) with the final question on Who Wants to be a Millionaire. Will the authorities let Jamal play? And if so, will he win? The entire movie leads up to these answers, and by the end, you are at the edge of your seat in anticipation. Everything pulls you in and makes you root for the underdog. But the amazing thing is, I think I would've been just as satisfied whether the ending was happy or tragic.

That is the mark of a great film. And as of about 30 minutes ago, Slumdog Millionaire is the best film of the year 2008. Go see it. You won't be disappointed.