Let me begin by confessing that I really didn't want to go and see this film. Shame on me, I should have realised that Danny Boyle could deliver both a gritty and funny film all at the same time.
The story, delivered in the style of a PARABLE, is pretty simple. Dev Patel's character wins the jackpot on India's 'Who Wants to be Millionaire' despite the pitiful and violent upbringing he's had to survive. How do we know this? Before he can go on to win the final prize, the cops take him in, torture him and get him to explain how he's known all the answers thus far. Let me tell you, it's been a grim and tough existence for this young lad growing up in Mumbai.
Through the explanations, the audience discovers how he knows the answers to the quiz show questions. On his quest to find his lost true love, Patel travels the country, often with his streetwise and manipulative older brother, to find the girl he loves.
Without giving anything further away, I can only commend this film, as the Academy Awards and Bafta did, for being a richly observed, very funny and heart-achingly wrenching film. The young actors who portrayed the main characters throughout were both gorgeous and immensely watchable whilst Dev Patel is bound to become a big star in the footsteps of Jamie Bell et al. A final mention must go to the music - modern, political and extremely fitting.
Whilst I recognise why the argument rages as to whether the slums of Mumbai are glamorised or not in this film, regardless of the answer, it's portrayed as both a city alive with possibility and tragedy all at the same time.
A greatly entertaining and visually stunning picture.
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