"Slumdog Millionaire" (2008)

This is my favourite film in the world. Written by Simon Beaufoy and directed by Danny Boyle, it tells the story of Jamal Malik (played amazingly by Dev Patel) who is just one question away from winning a whopping 20 million rupees...but how could a boy from the slums know all the answers? The police assume he’s a cheat and take him in for questioning. However, as he explains himself, each encounter reveals another answer to the show’s questions, and as the story of his life unravels before our eyes, we also learn of the girl he loved and lost. The film won eight of the ten Oscars it was nominated for at the Academy Awards.

(Just to those who haven't seen the film, there are some spoilers...)

I’m going to paint you a picture. It was the 26^th August 2009 and my friends and I decided that we’d like to watch a movie. Dad had recently purchased the very highly acclaimed Slumdog Millionaire, and so we decided we’d try it out. Would you believe, I remember I hated it the first time I watched it. I really did. The whole torture-aspect of it just wasn’t my thing at all. During the first scene I’d endured Jamal’s head being shoved in a bucket to “drown” him as a means of Srinivas (the policeman) obtaining information, but when it came to the second scene in the movie involving Jamal hanging from the ceiling and Srinivas bringing out the electricity, I was up and gone. I didn’t leave the room, I just moved to a seat further away from the TV. This was adequate enough because at the time I was in the process of getting glasses, so from this distance the screen was blurry to me. I could only hear what was going on...which in hindsight probably made it worse. My mind went to dark places. It took me ages to be able to watch that scene. And those of you who’ve seen the film will know what was ahead of me in later scenes, and what sealed the conviction that this was just an awful film. However, a few days later another one of my friends suggested we watch it, as she had not seen it, so I reluctantly agreed. During this viewing I was prepared for what was coming, and I’d got my glasses, so I was able to watch it properly and pay more attention to the actual story. The verdict after the second viewing: maybe it wasn’t so bad after all. It was after the third or fourth viewing that I just fell in love with it. Now six years and 55 viewings later, it is the best film I have, and probably will ever see - for a million different reasons!

Now that I can appreciate the techniques used in this film, I think Danny Boyle displays moments of genius. The opening is brilliant. It’s very quiet except for a lot of deep breathing. All you see is Jamal’s face as Srinivas (the policeman) blows smoke into it. By using a close up shot, Danny Boyle wanted to tumble people into the film so you wouldn’t really know where you are, or what exactly is going on. There’s so much tension. Then suddenly – “NAME!” and Jamal is smacked across the face and the movie kicks into action. The lighting is yellow throughout this piece, which is really interesting as yellow is a hugely recurring feature throughout the film; the majority of Latika’s clothes, for example, and the yellow-topped taxis swamping the streets. Actually, come to think of it I don’t believe there is a scene without some form of yellow featuring in it, be it in the background, in the lighting, or on the characters themselves. Watch it again with this in mind and you’ll see what I mean.

The editing in that scene is great too. The editing throughout the whole film is brilliant. The transitions between Jamal being introduced on the game show, and Jamal being tortured for answers is very effective because it really keeps the tension mounting, the audience guessing, and on the edge of their seat. Just before it goes into the next scene, we are given a shot of a girl (Latika, played by Freida Pinto) at a train station.  – And the film’s premise is set. For this particular shot they used a stills camera with a setting that shoots eleven frames per second and they blended them together in the computer. This was to give an extra intensity and vibrancy of colour and focus on the shot. It emphasises that this is a memory that Jamal is remembering and one we are expected to remember right the way through the film too. This is done for a number of different shots throughout the movie; all referring to a memory of Jamal’s. (I just find this kind of thing really interesting)

A fun fact in regards to the editing = they had to edit the scene where Maman is auditioning all these children to sing so he can send them out begging. For the story, Salim needed to be a bad singer, but actually, the actor was a lovely singer, and so what they did was, used the actor of Jamal’s voice as Salim’s voice and edited in, this way to suit the story; swapped their voices.

Sticking with editing, the final scene that we see the middle Jamal, Latika, and Salim, has a really clever transition into the next scene. As Salim slams the door of the room in the hotel, we just see the silhouette of the back of Jamal’s head and his ears sort of sticking out, and then this rolls into the next scene where we see the back of Dev Patel’s head and his ears are sort of sticking out. I think this is clever. The scene that it has now modulated into is a good example of editing, because it is actually two scenes, broken up and fitted together. If you look closely, the inspector is sitting in one place at the beginning of it, and then slightly different for a portion of it, and then suddenly back to the way he was at the beginning of it again – even though he never really left it! But the editing is good, because it is only very subtle! It just shows what can be done. I think that's really cool.

The third scene of the film in which Jamal and Salim are running through the slums with the song ‘O Saya’ in the background, has some fantastic shots in it as it introduces the audience so dramatically to Jamal’s life in the slums. Even the song choice adds to the atmosphere, and I like the way they introduce the title of the film by having the boy running up and it being on his t-shirt, rather than just stating ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ in the centre of the screen. It’s more creative. Similarly, it's creative in the way they've included the subtitles during the Hindi-speaking parts. Having them dotted around the screen in different colours is far more interesting than just placing them at the bottom of the screen. Anyway, the children are running as the police chase them off of the runway, and through the slums. The camera is for a lot of it, down at their level so we are really thrown into the midst dramatically. We are also given an insight through this scene as to how people actually live in slums and of the conditions they live in. There is one shot in particular where it looks at the boys running from an aerial view – and then it zooms out a bit – then zooms out a bit more – zooms out further – and then further again until the audience are going “wow” as it just shows the sheer size of this slum – It’s unbelievable. The camera shots move quite fast too, throughout the scene to go with the speed and urgency at which the boys are running. Danny Boyle said they used very small cameras called SI2K cameras, which allow them to be hand-held and could be operated in small places. The drive for the digital cameras were all stored in rucksacks, so this enabled them to run around the tiny alleys in the slums, and that is how this particular scene and many others were filmed in the distinctive way that is shown.  

The riot scene is a scene worth mentioning too. The beginning of it is somewhat muffled as the mob comes towards them. It is almost as though everything is being slowed and we know instantly that danger is approaching. They built another part of a slum somewhere else. The idea, so as not to upset anybody, was to film it in the eyes of a seven year old and he wouldn’t understand any of the finer details. They only see their Mum die and the people around them fighting and getting hurt. The shots switch and change very abruptly and only show very close-ups of the people running around etc, creating a huge sense of urgency and danger; they have to get out of here! The music as well is actually quite scary. (Listen to it in the dark really loudly, you’ll see!) For parts of it they use the stills camera again which adds to this affect because it feels even more jumpy and shaky, as though you, the audience, are running with them. This is also shown because you are actually in the slum, literally running down through the pathways with the boys. You hear a lot of the people shouting, but their voices are all blended together and then you suddenly hear the very distinctive sound of a baby crying in the middle of all the chaos, and I find it quite harrowing.

The piece showing the aftermath of the riot has Jamal and Salim caught in a rain storm. Although, the focus of the scene is on Jamal, the camera is positioned in front of Salim with his eyes open as he starts to plot his revenge. We see the silhouette of Jamal calling Latika in behind him, while Salim remains unblinking and perfectly still. This part of the scene is special because it’s the first time Jamal meets Latika. As they introduce each other, the characters are not in the centre of the screen, but at the side. I love the shot in which we only see the silhouette of Latika at the side of the screen as she says her name. I think it’s really effective. This scene is the turning point for the two brothers. The first thing Salim does after the riot is start plotting his revenge on the world for killing his mother, whereas Jamal’s first act is one of kindness, which incidentally sets up what’s to be expected of each of them for the rest of the film. I think it's subtly done.

There’s a shot after fourteen year old Jamal has found Arvind (one of his friends who was blinded by Maman) again as he’s looking for Latika, and they show this smoke being sprayed along the street. It’s used to keep the mosquitoes away, but I actually like the shot of Jamal running into the smoke and that makes the transition into the next scene. I think that just looks very effective. Then the scene that it uses this transition to go into, I think is a very good scene. The way the song “Ringa Ringa” starts playing and you see Jamal and Salim asking around to find Latika. Then every so often you see the feet of a girl dancing and her blue skirt spinning as she twirls around a room. This is very good because it’s sort hinting that, ‘yes, he’s going to find her’ but without giving too much away. Following these shots, when Jamal has finally found her, there’s a shot of the two brothers looking in through the key hole of the door just before they go in. We see only their eye at off centre, and you see her reflection in each of their eyeballs, and both reflections are perceived so differently. Once they’ve barged in to get her, there’s this one quick snippet of the three of them standing together, and then just walking into the room are Maman and his two side-kicks; it shows the two sets of The Three Musketeers; the good and the bad about to go face to face. We are given an off centre shot of the scarring on Penoose’s face (one of Maman’s side-kicks) after Salim threw the chloroform at him earlier. The make-up is very well done and looks well in the shot. Also in this scene, the use of viewing various angles, example when Maman scatters the money on the floor, or when Salim actually shoots Maman, through a series of mirrors is very effective. The idea of this is to give the impact without actually showing it, and I think it was done well. 

There’s one other scene much later on in the film where Jamal, now eighteen, is staying with Salim after meeting up with him again after all these years. Jamal is lying asleep on the floor and Salim’s phone suddenly starts ringing and his eyes suddenly open. I think the use of music is brilliant because it sort goes against the scene in a way. The scene is supposed to be mysterious, yet the music is very strong and lively. It’s very quiet at first but then the music suddenly kicks into action properly with a good strong beat, and all of a sudden you see Salim preparing a gun – I think the timing is brilliant because it makes it feel really exciting. Danny Boyle said “by ignoring the scene it just propels the film forward”. 

I love the recurring themes throughout this film. I’ve already mentioned the recurring use of yellow, but there’s also a recurring reference to The Three Muskateers. Throughout the movie the characters are constantly mentioning “The Three Musketeers”. I think there’s a clip when their teacher is reading the story to them in their school. There’s that contrast between Maman and his side-kicks (the “older/bad musketeers”) against Jamal, Salim and Latika (the “younger/good musketeers”), as well as the final question Jamal has to answer ironically being about The Three Musketeers. This particular referencing coincides with Simon Beaufoy’s use of the 'Power of 3'. The film is essentially split into three sections (seven year old Jamal, fourteen year old Jamal, and eighteen year old Jamal), as well as the film centring around three main characters, the fact that Jamal only gets cross three times throughout the film and they're all over someone wronging Latika. I could go on. Another fantastic recurrence which is incredibly subtle is the use of cricket throughout the film. The scene where we are first introduced to Jamal’s life in the slums involves them playing cricket. The funny thing about this scene is the fact that Jamal is just rubbish at it – yet it comes back to haunt him as the second last question on the quiz show is about cricket! I love that!

The thing about this film that I love is however bad things got, that’s how good they became. The same can be said about the book it was based on, Q&A by Vikas Swarup. I think it’s the only situation where I would recommend watching the film before reading the book. The book is very graphic and I think if I had read it first there is no way I would have watched the film and I wouldn’t be writing this review as enthusiastically as I am right now. That being said, just like the film, the book is brilliant. Not for everyone, I should say, but brilliant. The whole film is a real fairy tale. Jamal is such a wonderful and determined character. The moral of the story is: if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. In other words, don’t give up! If it’s meant to be it will be, or conversely, if it’s meant to be it’s up to me!

I could actually waffle about this film forever; “The Brilliance That Is Slumdog Millionaire” (As you’ve probably construed from reading!!) There are just so many more scenes that I would love to talk about if I wasn’t afraid of making this post far too long (though I think I’ve already run that risk either way...)! I think each individual scene is crafted excellently. In my opinion, Simon Beaufoy and Danny Boyle are just geniuses. Dev Patel, too, is amazing in this film.

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