Friday, November 21, 2008

Movie review and director interview: Slumdog Millionaire

It's the answer to how he knows what he knows.

By John P. Meyer

Photo by John P. Meyer

Danny Boyle: director, raconteur

Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle's out-of-left-field entry in the end-of-year Oscar sweeps, is something totally fresh on the filmmaking front - which may prove to be a hindrance in terms of box office (how does one categorize this film in order to target an audience?). But if positive word of mouth counts for anything, it's sure to overcome this questionable handicap.

Simon Beaufoy's screenplay derives from Vikas Swarup's novel Q and A, which tells the fantastical story of a man who - as a result of his uncannily accurate answers to questions posed by a quiz show host - earns both a record amount of prize money and the suspicion of the show's organizers, who have him arrested for cheating.

"What - is your favorite color?"

Like the "Maximum City" in which most of the action takes place, Slumdog teems with life - much of it messy, smelly (speaking synesthetically) and unsanitized, particularly the parts documented in the early part of the film which chronicle the boyhood exploits of Jamal Malik (played as a young lad by Ayush Mahesh Khedekar). Over the course of the movie we encounter Jamal in two progressively older incarnations, culminating in his portrayal as a young adult by Dev Patel.

One of Jamal's earliest adventures - involving primitive (and I mean REALLY primitive) pay toilets - brings to mind a topically-similar (and horribly memorable) scene from Mr. Boyle's Trainspotting. If you've seen the movie, you know the one I mean.

The story is told primarily through flashbacks, as Jamal the eldest (Mr. Patel, turning in an infectious and thoroughly sympathetic performance) is quizzed by the host of a Hindi version of "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire," Prem Kumar - played with egotistical supercilious abandon by Anil Kapoor. When Kumar learns that his show's latest competitor (i.e., "victim") is a humble chai runner from the floor of a telemarketing boiler room, he spares no effort to embarrass the fellow on live TV via thinly-veiled insults. Maintaining his cool, Jamal refuses to be thrown off by his less-than-welcoming host, and - to everyone's amazement - appears to have the answer to every question thrown at him. Even more astoundingly, he seems not to care whether he wins or loses.

"Could I use my lifeline?"

The story of how he happens to know the answers is told in the flashbacks, which take Jamal (and us) from the most miserable of slums to the Taj Mahal to the high iron framework of a skyscraper under construction in downtown Mumbai.

Along the journey back and forth in time we meet the then-and-now incarnations of two other major players in Jamal's life story: his older brother Salim (Madhur Mittal) and the love of his life, Latika (Freida Pinto). Salim will both save and betray Jamal, while Latika - through her varying absence and presence in his life - will determine his destiny.

Irfan Khan plays the police inspector to whom Jamal is delivered for questioning as a result of the suspicions raised by his remarkable quiz show success; Saurabh Shukla appears as the brutal desk sergeant tasked with extracting the truth. That truth - by virtue of its simplicity - renders the policemen officially impotent and uncharacteristically contemplative.

Jamal and Latika: fate brings them together (again and again)

The soundtrack - both musical and ambient - exists as a visceral element throughout the film, a point which director Boyle addresses in his interview comments (appended below). Also noticeable is the freedom of movement made possible by the use of comparatively lightweight digital cameras - demonstrated during a scene in which our point of view follows alongside some kids who suddenly leap from a rooftop, as our camera person follows them on a parallel course. It's almost as if we're floating. (And - thanks to Steadicam - it's all marvelously fluid.)

Perhaps the most compelling reason for American audiences to take in Slumdog Millionaire is the fact that it provides - at long last - a justification for the existence of those insipid game shows. Plus, it's simply a breath of moviemaking fresh air - reason enough, all by itself.

Interview with Danny Boyle, part 1

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Our roundtable interview with Mr. Boyle included a total of ten eager journalists, and thus one was lucky to get a question in edgewise.

Regardless, Mr. Boyle proved to be an enthusiastic and erudite subject - one of the most entertaining and forthcoming film folks it's been my privilege to converse with in some time.

Listen up to discover what happens when the Maximum City goes to sleep at night (between 2 and 4 a.m.) - and how digital cameras allowed Boyle's film crew greater technical flexibility and enhanced their access to locations. You'll also hear about his father, who was stationed in India during WWII with thousands of other Brits in preparation for an invasion of Japan.

Danny Boyle is a man who clearly loves what he's about (i.e., filmmaking) and this really comes through in the audio. Since the total time of the conversation approaches 26 minutes, I've split it into chunks for your listening convenience.

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