Danny Boyle is one of our favorite modern auteurs, but his films seem to get short thrift with audiences these days and or he’s hit or miss with the mainstream. But his new film has garnered a lot of unlikely buzz and let the recent Telluride film festival with the loudest reverberating hum. The Fox Searchlight came in to help out the “we don’t really care about small indies” Warner Bros. and the film then seemed to take on a new life, which is remarkable considering the story about a boy savant from the slums of Mumbai isn’t the easiest sell for mainstream audiences that just want to see shit blow up real good.
We’ll add to this later, but we’re so awed by the magic of “Slumdog Millionaire” we had to get it out now, we’re practically bursting at the seams to say it.
A sure-fire crowd pleaser and a cinematic tour de force, ‘Slumdog’ was a spectacular joy and a fantastic ride. The children in this film were fabulous, the music was thrilling (some M.I.A – “Paper Planes”!) and the script remarkably subverted the memories flashback trope most audiences are familiar with.
A wicked nod to bollywood at the end, plus a rushing full of life story and bold, kinetic camera, Boyle triumphed again with easily the film of the festival. People must see this vibrantly wonderful film as soon as possible. [A]