Slumdog is seriously overrated

Rating: 5/10 (15 June 2009)

Now the Oscar dust has settled, what remains of Slumdog Millionaire? Nothing much. Slumdog was a victim of its own buzz and the hype that surrounded it was, naturally, unsustainable. Watching the film on DVD, I was aware of its severe limitations as a cinematic experience. Originally intended for a DVD/TV crossover, the film very much belongs to that genre. The biggest problem of the film is its adult protagonist played by Dev Patel. For UK viewers, he is best known as one of the ex-cast members of the overrated teen drama Skins, and it's this TV baggage he brings to Slumdog. Furthermore, he is not the charismatic hero of Bollywood film but very average looking and limited in his acting talents. His co-star Freida Pinto as the adult Latika doesn't have to do much except look beautiful, and she does that very well. Embarrassingly, both are upstaged by the trio of child actors who bring a daring self-effacement to their roles. Is is they who bring a haunting authenticity to the film, being slumdog children themselves; and it's this blurring of roles and reality that is so intriguing.
Why is it overrated? The film's central conceit of the Millionaire quiz and flashbacks is clever at the start but soon loses its effect. Director Danny Boyle is confused about where to reveal the origin of the answer – sometimes it's revealed after the question is asked; other times it's revealed before. There's an inconsistency about the flow of this narrative strategy and often I found myself guessing the outcome before it came and I don't want to be in this situation in a film.
The film's dynamic flow staggers midway and the linear narrative takes hold. What we get is a run-of-the mill Bollywood romance that seems too Hollywood for its own sake. The final scenes are desperately out of place in the film and seem insulting to the audience following many harrowing scenes. To say the film's ending is badly handled is an understatement. Boyle seems to have been confused about how to end the film, so what we get is an abrupt cutaway to the protagonist Jamal, sitting like a beggar in the station despite being the most famous TV star in Mumbai. Just didn't ring true. The Bollywood credits further reinforces the trivial tone. No wonder it won so many Oscars!