Rather dire and very contrived

Rating: 6/10 (18 August 2010)

In all the various international versions of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? a few things remain constant. One of those things is that the show is not broadcast live. Except in this movie. That's just the first of many contrivances you have to be willing to accept if you're going to watch Slumdog Millionaire. This movie asks you to believe so many unbelievable things. The fact that the game show upon which the whole plot is centered plays out in a way that is quite frankly impossible is a problem. The game show being broadcast live isn't the only issue. Other key moments of the game within the movie play out in a way which, back in the real world, simply could not and would not happen. So the very heart of the movie brings with it incredible flaws. Some may say let it go, it's just a movie, you're thinking too much. That would probably be easier if the setup of the game show itself was the only major contrivance. It's not. This movie piles contrivance upon contrivance to the point the whole thing strains credulity.
The movie tells the story of Jamal Malik, a young man from the Mumbai slums who rather unbelievably is on the verge of winning Millionaire's grand prize. The show's host certainly doesn't believe it. He's convinced Jamal is cheating and hands him over to the police who are to beat the truth out of him. Doctors, lawyers, the best and brightest of India's society have gone on the show and been stumped. But Jamal, the simple slumdog, somehow has all the answers. And we, and his interrogators, are about to find out how exactly that came to be. We flashback to Jamal's childhood and then, as we watch him grow into a man, see the incidents in his life which enabled him to know the answers to every question he was asked. It's an interesting story to be sure but so contrived in so many ways. It's just too perfect that every question has a corresponding event in Jamal's life. And the fact that the key incidents in Jamal's life proceed chronologically in the same order in which the corresponding questions are asked on the show? Very convenient that. This whole movie has more than a hint of impossibility to it.
So it's contrived but maybe that's OK because Slumdog Millionaire is, as the film's marketing breathlessly tells you, the feel-good film of the decade. Really? This is the most bleak, dire feel-good movie I've ever seen. Jamal has led a life filled with unimaginable hardship. Hardship which is portrayed in unsparing, brutal fashion. People love a rags-to-riches underdog story and that's what we have here. But if the film is destined to be ultimately inspiring, and that's clearly what the filmmakers are going for, it sure is rather depressing along the way. Depressing and all too often not particularly entertaining. The flashback structure comes off as somewhat gimmicky and robs the film of much of its momentum. You're interested in Jamal's story but never completely captivated. There's not enough energy in the movie for it to really grab you. The key romantic storyline falls a little flat as the girl over whom Jamal obsesses is someone who in actuality he hardly knows at all. For most of his life he has had no relationship whatsoever with this girl. That makes it hard to sell this as some kind of great romance. Eventually the flashbacks catch up to Jamal's present-day life which sets up the big conclusion. But by that point the movie has kind of fizzled out. It's already been robbed of any joy that it might have had. Honestly the only time this movie enjoys itself at all is during the closing credits. And by then it's much too late. It's not as much of a feel-good movie as it's purported to be. It's certainly not as entertaining or enjoyable as it could have been. And the story is so contrived. Honestly if you think about it the whole thing doesn't make much sense at all. Somehow despite all of that the movie doesn't fail completely. There's enough good stuff here to make the movie passable but that's about it.