Slumdog Millionaire
Terri
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. . . With the Academy Awards behind us, you might expect that Terri and I would give two thumbs way up! for Slumdog Millionaire, using hindsight. But, we had—honestly--already made that decision, when we saw it on the night before the Oscars.
So, yes, it got lots of acclaim, and you know that already. But why?
#How does this movie match perfection from a storyteller’s perspective?
The interesting reality is that it doesn’t. Yes, there is heroism on the part of the contestant in Who Wants to become a Millionaire, Mumbai (Bombay) edition. This (heroism) is a cornerstone of a classic drama, no matter where it takes place, ala Joseph Campbell, the late, great story analyst, who helped with one of the greatest stories ever told—Star Wars.
But, it is lacking causal relationships. By that, I mean if/then equations. That’s the difference between playing chess, where the best player usually wins, and Monopoly, the board game, in which the roll of the die is ultra-important. The outcome of this movie is way more contingent on luck than the hero’s skills. Definitely, that places it in the guy-flick, action-drama genre, which is usually not of a great deal of interest to me. I’m fine with action, but I much prefer the sort of drama that depends much more so on the cunning or skills of the hero. He had skills, but those skills had less to do with the outcome of the movie than is usual in a classic drama.
Then, what was it that made it so great? It was the immersion into the raw, unadulterated, often cruel environment from which the children who were the stars in this movie came. Yes, even with luck, the hero had to show resilience and determination—without which—he would certainly have failed.
But, the action was so fast, the stakes so high, the split second thinking of the hero, so sharp, that Terri and I were on the edges of our seats for most of the ride.
I usually don’t give a rollercoaster ride a thumbs way up, but I am this one, because it had such compelling side-features, such as a close look at the seamy side of Mumbai, which was heart wrenching. But, the acting was superb as well. How can that be?
The actor is supposed to express the emotion that his or her character derives from the experience and sell us on the realistic portrayal of that figure. This was done over and over again in this film. Nowhere does it say in the rules of acting that Hollywood budgets and Hollywood salaries are required for this—and they weren’t!
Hollywood was the winner and loser in this.
They were losers, because another low budget film has shown that, “It’s the story, stupid!” [and the acting and directing, not the special effects—no matter how shiny they are, or how much they cost]
But, they were also winners, because they gave this film the credit and acclaim it deserved.
From Dan's Gradebook: A+ (because it has lots and lots of heart!)
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. . .Terri thought this film was, “sweet.” She said she didn’t like seeing the squalor and cruel surroundings that the children of Mumbai had to face, but that it made her overwhelmingly sympathetic toward the lead characters—always pulling for their success.
She was also noticeably on edge throughout the film. She reported having to use the restroom about halfway through the movie, but continuously said, “I can’t leave! I can’t leave! I just can’t leave!” until I finally persuaded her about halfway through the last act to take a break under the promise of a complete rundown on all intervening events, when she returned.
In listening to her rendition of the romance in the film, I could tell that she was touched by the consistently chivalrous manner in which the lead character related to his love interest throughout the movie. The romantic interchange was not a major component of the movie, but it was a subplot, always lurking in the background until just the right moment to tweak the heart-stings of the female attendees. It was quite a sappy romance in that regard, but, as Martha Stewart puts it, “That’s a good thing.”
Terri doesn’t like being pigeonholed, so I had a hard time getting a “thumbs way up!” out of her per se. But, when on Oscar night she was saying, “Come on, Slumdogs! Come on Slumdogs!” in about the same tone that we all rooted for Dorothy to get back to Kansas and the Tin Man to get a heart, I knew the outcome, i.e., clearly the best movie of 2008 for all of the ones we saw, anyway.
Two thumbs way up for Terri!
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