Slumdog Millionaire

As I said with '127 Hours' I am a big fan of the works by Danny Boyle, but the main reason I really liked 'Slumdog Millionaire' (2008, Danny Boyle) was it's structure. The content itself was extremely moving and at points too horrific to watch, but the structure made a powerful impact on me personally.


'Slumdog Millionaire' as a quick summary is about a young man in India who participates in the Indian version of who wants to be a millionaire and ends up in prison accused of cheating as he gets all of the questions right.

This is where the film starts, at the end with Jamal (Dev Patel) in prison, he is being interviewed, allowed to argue his case and this for me is where the film becomes a innovative piece of filmmaking.


Jamal begins to tell the interviewer how he answered each question. The answer to every question lies within an experience he has had in his life, therefore through the sequence of questions reveals to the audience Jamal's life story - the high and the low points. We become immersed in the sadness of his tale, he has been through so much and even when the tides seemingly begin to turn (Winning the contest) the world brings him back down on his knees.




The film does however end on a high note, with music and dancing! in the typical style of a Bollywood film. Jamal is set free and he gets the girl! A more hopeful end to a saddening story. This is probably one of my favourite structured films ever, I like the cuts between the present and the past, flashbacks all linking together to complete the story of Jamal, told in a format familiar to British audiences.