Movie Review: Slumdog Millionaire

Slumdog Millionaire is ostensibly about a guy from the slums of India who manages to make his way onto the Indian version of "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." You'd think he might be exceptional for his education or knowledge of random trivia, but no. The story is more richly layered. It turns out that the answer to every single question he's asked refers him back to some painful past memory. It's in this way, through a series of flashbacks, that you learn that he is not exceptional for his brain, but his heart.

The story is really about Jamal, his older brother Salim, and their third "Musketeer", a girl named Latika. Using the answers to the game show questions, it threads the story of how they meet and the paths their lives take, which is not glamorous. Ultimately, you see that Jamal loves Latika, and he will do anything to be with her. In the end, this drives him to try to be on "Millionaire" because he knows she watches the show and he can't reach her any other way.

I wouldn't call it a "feel good" movie (even including the necessary Bollywood dance number as the credits roll), but it does show the strength of the human spirit, and the power of love in the best and worst of situations. I give it an "A".