Slumdog Millionaire

“It is written”

The Outcast is Finally Helped

Dev Patel – I know him as Anwar in the Channel 4 Series Skins. I didn’t care for his character, which transitively made me dislike the actor. But, Slumdog Millionaire seems poised to win it all this year, so I was excited when it was released at AMC 24.

Slumdog Millionaire focuses on Jamal Malik, a 17 year old Moslem who is just one question away from winning the Hindi version of ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’. The police suspect him of cheating, as he comes from the slums of Mumbai and there is no plausible reason as to why he would know the answer to some of the questions. But, he is not cheating. He knows the answers. The film goes through different portions of his life as he tells the stories about how he knows the answers to the questions. In these stories are different quintessential genres – the harsh life of a poor boy from a third world, oppression, abuse, and, most of all, the romantic aspect. Slumdog captures is all, and, astoundingly, it manages to not be overly ambitious.

The strongest theme this film embodies is the power of the human heart over material. Obviously, this was much easier to accomplish among slumdogs who have nothing material. It shows how the humblest of hearts are the ones that appreciate what loves. Now, this does not mean that everyone should go ditch their possessions in order to become good people. However, I did get one good thing from this film – try to empathize with Jamal Malik. He might have something to teach you. If you didn’t have a lot of ‘stuff’, what would you have? Love? Family?

Now, back to Dev Patel – now that I never ever have to see Anwar again, I can now redraw Dev Patel in my mind as Jamal Malik. He caught a break there! He was recently nominated for Best Lead Actor by the Rysh Guild and Best Supporting Actor by the SAG. Arguments could be made for both lead and supporting. Either way, I am glad he is getting well-deserved recognition for his brilliant performance. And although he is standing among bigger giants in either category come the Oscars, a nomination is well deserved at this point, and I think we can all expect more things to come from Patel.

I left the theatre satisfied. This film was one of the many good films of 2008. It’s turning out to be a great season. And, although I can’t rank it with this year’s elites, it was a great film and I would recommend it. I give it a B+.