Slumdog Millionaire - spoilers
~E~
After seeing this movie, I'm not sure what the big buzz was all about. While enjoyable, it was fairly cliche and predictable and I have a feeling it's one of those forgettable movies as well.
What made the biggest impression on me were the slums and how huge they were. That anyone could pull themselves out of a life like that in a legitimate fashion is almost unthinkable; that anyone living there would turn to crime to survive and possibly prosper seems a given.
The journey of the main characters begins when their mother is murdered; they are suddenly on their own. Some of the movies more amusing scenes actually come out of the different situations the boys take advantage of to earn (or steal) a living. I particularly enjoyed how they managed to get by once they come upon the Taj Mahal.
The main thread of the movie is Jamal trying to reunite with his lost love, Latika. They are 6 or 7 when they meet and Jamal takes her in along with his brother. They're separated a bit later in the movie and Jamal is obsessed with finding her again. He finds her and loses her a few times before the movie is over.
I didn't find Jamal's brother to be a very believable character. Salim seemed to start out as a little punk, when he sells something that is very important to Jamal, and gets worse from there. Later in the film he seems to be remorseful for the things he's done but it just rang false for me.
And Jamal went through the whole movie, from child to teen to adult, with his mouth hanging open in that Keanu Reeves style of acting.
There is violence in the movie, although nothing too graphic, which I appreciate. Latika almost ends up being prostituted, she is later raped - off screen - and ends up as an abused woman with a major crime lord (from whom she has to be rescued). There is violence against men and kids as well, which I think serves more to show the rough life of a 'slumdog' and the violence that goes with being a criminal. There are several disturbing scenes in an orphanage as well.
In the end the movie just feel shallow and flat. Wait for the DVD to come out.
After seeing this movie, I'm not sure what the big buzz was all about. While enjoyable, it was fairly cliche and predictable and I have a feeling it's one of those forgettable movies as well.
What made the biggest impression on me were the slums and how huge they were. That anyone could pull themselves out of a life like that in a legitimate fashion is almost unthinkable; that anyone living there would turn to crime to survive and possibly prosper seems a given.
The journey of the main characters begins when their mother is murdered; they are suddenly on their own. Some of the movies more amusing scenes actually come out of the different situations the boys take advantage of to earn (or steal) a living. I particularly enjoyed how they managed to get by once they come upon the Taj Mahal.
The main thread of the movie is Jamal trying to reunite with his lost love, Latika. They are 6 or 7 when they meet and Jamal takes her in along with his brother. They're separated a bit later in the movie and Jamal is obsessed with finding her again. He finds her and loses her a few times before the movie is over.
I didn't find Jamal's brother to be a very believable character. Salim seemed to start out as a little punk, when he sells something that is very important to Jamal, and gets worse from there. Later in the film he seems to be remorseful for the things he's done but it just rang false for me.
And Jamal went through the whole movie, from child to teen to adult, with his mouth hanging open in that Keanu Reeves style of acting.
There is violence in the movie, although nothing too graphic, which I appreciate. Latika almost ends up being prostituted, she is later raped - off screen - and ends up as an abused woman with a major crime lord (from whom she has to be rescued). There is violence against men and kids as well, which I think serves more to show the rough life of a 'slumdog' and the violence that goes with being a criminal. There are several disturbing scenes in an orphanage as well.
In the end the movie just feel shallow and flat. Wait for the DVD to come out.
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