Danny Boyle's Work: Captivating and Motivating

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2015)

When I first heard of this movie back when it was still new to theaters, it was thanks to my film professor at my local university that introduced it to me. After witnessing the entire story unfold, it felt so uplifting and provided an insight on India's slums. Stars Dev Patel (in his breakout film role) and Frieda Pinto certainly gave splendid performances as characters Jamal and Latika respectively. After watching director Danny Boyle's previous movie 28 Days Later, this is quite a transition from one genre to another. What both the latter and this movie have in common is that it aims towards main characters who are trying to find a purpose for themselves on their imperfect lives, but not without getting thrown into conflict with people they remain unsure if they should trust them or not, thus shaping their lives in various ways.
As the story goes, an impoverished individual named Jamal who pretty much grew up in the slums of India with his older brother Salim tries to make a living in surviving any means necessary, even if it means tangling with the wrong crowd. Despite the hardships, betrayal, and the various conflicts along the way, Jamal tries to make something for himself by entering into the game show "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire?"
Observing the technical portions, I liked how well the film editing tells the story through Jamal's perspective and that the past experiences he went through lead up to the present time back and forth frequently, which helped him achieve the answers he seeks during the game. It's basically fate telling the story through the questions he is given by the host. For it to win eight Oscars that year, I can already see what makes it so significant. The music and underscore of composer A.R. Rahman also had me so immersed into the dramatic settings of the film that I was entranced by how well it accompanied tense situations and enlightened moments. After looking back at this movie several years later, it's certainly not overrated, it is indeed written.