Slumdog Millionaire

For the record, I am a Danny Boyle (the Director) fan, I thoroughly enjoyed Trainspotting, 28 Days Later, Sunshine and thought The Beach was interesting enough. If I had one critique of Boyle' s filmmaking; it would be that, on occasion he relies too heavily on style, placing the epicenter of the film on visual progression and confusion instead of the bare bones story or characters. Well ladies and gentleman; I am very proud to report that Boyle did none of that in this film. All of the things that he has done impeccably well in the past were there and glowing and the surrounding film was nearly flawless. This is, in my far from humble opinion, without a doubt; Danny Boyle's best film, if not the best film of the year.
The story begins with Jamal Malik, an 18 year old orphan brought up in the slums of Mumbai, on India's version of the gameshow Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Jamal is one question away from the previously foreseen insurmountable goal of winning 20 million rupees. The show breaks, with plans to continue Jamal's quest the following day; however, as he is ushered out he is taken into police custody and charged with cheating under the pretense that there is no conceivable way an orphan from the slums could get all the way to 20 million. What follows is a journey though Jamal Malik's life as he explains how he came to the answers to the questions. The film is perfectly executed, flawlessly paced, very well acted, timelessly structured and stylized, and beautifully shot. I don't know what else you could want from a film. At its center its a love story, on the surrounding layers its a tale of survival, friendship, family,heartbreak and overall, hope. It is a rare occurrence that I give a film this much praise and hype but this one absolutely deserves it.