A Masterpiece

Rating: 10/10 (21 December 2008)

First, I want to say that I have waited two days to post this review. The reason I waited? I wanted to make sure that my feelings about this movie right after I saw it were genuine, and that I wasn't just caught up in the hype that surrounds this film. Slumdog Millionaire is a masterpiece, and quite simply one of the best movies I have seen in the last fifteen years. It is the ultimate story of hope and redemption, and it ends on a note so satisfying, that the only other movie I can even think of comparing it to (as far as satisfying endings are concerned) is The Shawshank Redemption. I don't know if Slumdog is as good as Shawshank, but I do know that it is pretty darn close. What's even more amazing is that I don't think I have ever heard of any of these actors, and yet all of them give powerful, compelling performances. Indeed, the only person's name I did recognize in the credits is Danny Boyle's. And what a movie Boyle has orchestrated here. It is my opinion that one could not ask for anything more from a movie than what is present in Slumdog. We have action, we have suspense, and we have loads of drama. There's tragedy, and there's triumph. It has a wonderfully written screenplay, and is edited in such a way that the pace of the film never slows down. I was so engrossed in this film, and the journey that is taken by the characters, that I honestly could not believe that I had sat in a theater for just over two hours. I know there will be naysayers here. But they will be few and far between. There will be cynics that complain about the unrealistic nature of the "coincidences," and there will be those who are unconvinced by the happy ending. But they will be a small minority. And they are entitled to their opinion. However, it is my opinion that if you love movies, and if you are looking for a powerful story about ordinary people surrounded by extraordinary circumstances, then you need to see this movie. Trust me. It is the type of cinematic experience that only comes around once in a great while.